


Manipulated

by DearDaisy (Sunsetdaydreams)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apologies, Attempt at smut made in chapter 29, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Chapter 24 ends on a cliffhanger, Communication, Emotional Manipulation, Endgame Sterek, F/F, F/M, Failing at adding the tag minor character death, Feral Derek Hale, Fighting, Forgiveness has to earned not given automatically when asked for, Full Shift Werewolves, Getting Together, Hurt Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, M/M, Magic, Manipulation, Mates, Minor Character Death, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Multiple Pov, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Pining, Pining Derek, Pining Stiles, Redemption, Regrets, Scott realises his mistakes after being slapped in the face with them, Scott tries to be better, Serious Injuries, Slow Burn, Some fluff in the last couple chapters, Stiles left Beacon Hills, Stiles was kicked out of the pack, Theo dies, Unrequited Love, chosen mates, injuries, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2020-07-10 07:35:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 210,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19902112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunsetdaydreams/pseuds/DearDaisy
Summary: Nine years ago, Scott kicked Stiles out of the pack. Stiles left and never returned. But now his dad has been hurt, so Stiles returns to take care of him. No one knows the truth of what happened back then, not even Scott or Stiles. But that's about to change.I do not own the Teen Wolf characters.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set nine years after the end of the TV show. It's my first teen wolf fanfic and I hope you like it.
> 
> All errors and mistakes are my own and I in no way own the characters, just this storyline.

It had been nine years since Stiles had last set foot in Beacon Hills, and he honestly wasn’t sure if he was ready to return. But there was no way he was letting his dad cope with a broken leg and arm on his own, and at least Ava was coming back with him. Not that he had any option in that regard. Ava knew him too well and loved him too much to let him return to this place on his own. The feelings were wholeheartedly returned and he only felt relief that he wouldn’t be doing this on his own. He knew he could go back without her, that if he really wanted to go back on his own, he could and would. Ava would respect his decision, regardless of her opinion and feelings on the matter. But he didn’t. He didn’t want to go back on his own, face people he didn’t want to face on his own, face a town he no longer called home on his own.

Nor was he surprised to hear from Lydia that she was currently planning her way back to Beacon Hills as well. That she would arrive a few days, maximum a week, after them. She’d said something about the timing being perfect. He didn’t understand, and to be honest, was too scared to ask. But he knew that Ava would have called her and explained, and he loved them both for it. 

He and Lydia made sure they met up as often as their jobs allowed them. They had promised each other they wouldn’t go longer than six months without meeting up and two weeks without speaking. Amazingly they had managed this quite easily and hadn’t gone longer than three months without seeing each other. 

He knew Lydia had been back a couple times in the nine years that he hadn’t. She kept him updated on everything about her life and he tried to do the same. It was easier now, now that he was doing so much better. She’d kept them informed on everything she could find out whenever she came back, which after she’d burned her bridges with the pack the first time, wasn’t all that much.

His dad had ended up being their best source of information, but over time, Stiles had stopped feeling the need and the urge to know what was happening in the place he had grown up in. It had stopped being home and was now just the place where he’d once lived, with both good and bad memories. Unfortunately, the bad seemed to outweigh the good, no matter that it was the only place that he had memories of his mother. He often wondered if it was the memories of his mother that kept his father there.

The car ride back to a town he could honestly say he had no good feelings about had been hard enough for him, but even in his distracted state Ava had agreed to let him drive just so that he could feel a bit more in control. He knew that the need to feel in control was still after effects of being possessed, but he knew that need would never go away. 

Ava had never let him feel that he wasn't of any use, was superfluous or there because he was someone else’s best friend, unlike other best friends had. In the eight years he had known her, she had never once dismissed him, she’d laughed at some of his decisions, thoughts and choices, but she always supported him. Even when he was being ridiculous.

She knew that he was dreading bumping into his old friends. He wondered how long it would take for the pack to realise he was back in town and whether or not they’d have anything to say about that. He wanted to stay under the radar so they weren’t going to announce themselves to the pack, although Stiles doubted that Scott even knew that while it was outdated, it was deemed a polite thing to do in the Were community. Although Stiles and Ava were not Were’s.

He didn’t know who was still around but could easily guess. Most of them had stuck around, and those who had left for college had returned. Apparently, Derek had left, for good, shortly after giving him Scott’s message. Stiles couldn’t blame him. Jackson and Ethan had stayed in England, staying out of it but keeping in touch with the pack and Lydia. They were still allies to the pack as far as Stiles knew. The rest of the pack graduated, but Stiles hadn’t known them all that well. Deaton was still here, still advisor/reluctant emissary to Scott’s pack. Or at least he had been on Lydia’s last visit just before her mother moved away a few years ago. Stiles hoped that he was a better emissary now than he was ten years ago but he doubted it. Deaton hadn’t wanted to be involved then and Stiles doubted that anything had changed in that time. When he’d told Ava, she had doubled over laughing and snorted something about Scott deserving it. After she’d explained, he understood the Veterinarian/Druid a lot better and couldn’t really blame him.

‘You ready?’ Ava asked quietly. They’d been sat in the car silently for the last ten minutes. But she knew just how hard this was for him.

His dad was in that hospital, the hospital that he had spent way too much time in, in his first eighteen years of life. The same hospital that his mother had died in and the same one that Melissa McCall worked in, where her son visited her every so often. Her son who had once meant so much to him and now, was just someone he used to know, someone who was once his best friend and once his brother. He really hoped that Scott wasn’t visiting her today, if she was even working at the moment. But he knew Melissa, had kept in contact with her, so even if she wasn’t working, the chances that she was checking in or looking after his dad were high.

It was Melissa who had eventually managed to get hold of him, showing off some incredible detective skills and an impressive need to track him down. His own mother may be gone and irreplaceable, but Melissa would always be a mother to him, not replacing his own but another mother to him in her own right. He would always love her and she had proven that even though he and Scott were no longer Scott-and-Stiles, she would still love him just the same. 

Stiles took a deep breath and nodded. ‘Yeah.’

Neither of them made a move to get out of the SUV. He no longer had the jeep. Too many bad memories. It was kept locked in his father’s garage. He’d had it repaired and cleaned after his last crash, unsurprisingly that had been as he was leaving Beacon Hills nine years ago, but it hadn’t been used since then. He hadn’t even seen it since then but knew that before this visit was over, he would have seen it, sat in it, brought forward all the memories it invoked, both good and bad.

They were quiet for another minute.

Stiles sighed. He needed to get this over and done with instead of stagnating over the past, otherwise he would never get out of this car. ‘Okay, okay. Let’s do this.’

‘You sure?’

He nodded and pushing the door open, got out of the SUV. He instantly felt more exposed. Inside, with its blacked-out windows, he felt safe and hidden. Ava followed and immediately took his hand and together they looked up at the hospital. It hadn’t changed much and he half expected to see Melissa waiting anxiously for him at the side entrance to turn up covered in blood and injured. It was pure instinct that he checked and his heart skipped a beat seeing that she wasn’t there.

‘Let’s go see him.’ Ava gave his hand a gentle tug as she led him inside.

Stiles nodded. ‘Melissa said they’d be discharging him in a couple days, as soon as we’ve got the house suitable for him.’

Ava smiled at him but didn’t answer. She already knew this. They both did. But she knew he needed to talk about something, to keep himself distracted, to keep his mind from going to bad places.

He followed her inside, staying quiet when they got to the nurse’s station. He wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t recognised. It had been years after all and he was no longer the spastic kid who couldn’t keep still or shut up for a second. He still had ADHD, that would never go away but he’d learnt how to live with it, to control it and use it to his advantage. Melissa still wasn’t there and he wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse.

He let Ava do the talking and within minutes she was leading him to his dad’s room. It took forever to find and was too quick all at the same time. He didn’t feel prepared, still wasn’t convinced that his dad was actually ok and going to be just fine. They paused outside, Stiles staring at the door and unable to open it, his heart racing.

His dad was on the other side, in a hospital bed, injured, and the thought scared him more than anything else he’d ever faced. He couldn’t lose his dad and he’d come so close to that, just because some idiot chose to get behind the wheel of his car after drinking himself stupid at a bar. He knew how lucky his father was for not being more seriously injured, but Stiles wasn’t currently feeling lucky.

Ava glared at him. He grimaced back at her and taking a deep breath pushed the door open. His breath got caught in his throat and he almost whimpered as he saw his dad lying on the bed, his right leg and left arm bound in casts.

His dad smiled at him, his grin covering his entire face and lighting up his eyes. He didn’t look as tired as he had the last time they’d Skyped, the dark purple bags under his eyes having receded and there was more colour in his face. He looked rested, which surprised Stiles seeing as he’d been here for five days. His dad hated hospitals as much as he did and he regretted that it had taken him so long to get back. He’d been off grid with a case and no one had been able to contact him for three days. The thought that it could have been fatal and he’d been uncontactable was still giving him nightmares. Nightmares where he was too late to help his dad, too late to save him, too late to say goodbye.

‘Hey kiddo.’ His dad’s voice brought him out of the trance he’d almost sent himself into.

‘Hey dad.’ His voice was hoarse and tears sprang into his eyes. He was glad when Ava pushed him the rest of the way into the room, he quickly crossed it and threw himself onto his dad’s chest, hugging him tightly as she closed the door behind them, blocking out the rest of the hospital. It felt more like she was blocking out the rest of the world, leaving the three of them alone.

‘Missed you.’ His dad breathed into his hair, hugging him back tightly. Stiles didn’t know if his dad was picking up on his anxiety or if he’d been feeling the same but he was hugging him back with the same amount of strength. There was nothing better in the world then hugging your dad after you’d been told he’d been badly injured in a serious car accident.

‘Missed you too.’ Stiles whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. He could almost believe that he wasn’t back in Beacon Hills. But he was, and in a complete role reversal it was now his dad in a hospital bed rather than him. He knew exactly where his dad was coming from with how worried he’d constantly been over Stiles during high school. Although it had been years since Stiles had last been admitted to a hospital. It may be because he flat out refused to go, but still, it was still a fact and he was still proud of it.

‘You didn’t have to come.’ Noah was saying, his voice was soft and full of concern.

He no longer kept secrets from his dad, there were no more lies between them. If Stiles couldn’t tell him something, he told him that. Their relationship had strengthened and Stiles very occasionally worried how dependent he was on talking to his dad so frequently. But he was mentally stronger for it which was the important thing.

His dad knew the toll Beacon Hills and the supernatural had had on his mental state. More so Beacon Hills than the supernatural. The past few years had taught them both that.

‘Yes I did.’ Stiles told him in no uncertain terms. His dad had always been there for him, there was no way that he wasn’t going to be there for him. He would go to the ends of the world for his dad, coming back to Beacon Hills for him was a no brainer. He hadn’t even needed to think about it. The second he had heard his dad was hurt and in the hospital, there was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn’t be returning, wouldn’t be running to where ever his dad was.

They’d finished the case they were on, with a little less tact and elegance than usual, and only because they’d had to wait for a flight. After Melissa’s phone call, both Ava and Stiles had lost any form of patience. He knew it would change their reputation, and for the worse, but his father always came first.

‘Hey Ava.’ His dad smiled at her, not letting go of his grip on Stiles. For the first time since he’d gotten Melissa’s phone call, he allowed himself to relax and melted into his father’s embrace on the bed.

‘Noah.’ Ava smiles at him, her eyes crinkling in the corner, showing her pleasure at seeing him better then either of them had expected.

‘You been keeping my boy safe?’ Noah teased.

‘Of course.’ Ava exclaimed innocently as Stiles snorted. It had been too long since they had all been in the same room together. He mentally promised himself he would never let it go this long again. Even if that meant returning again. He was here now, how bad could being back really be?

‘Do you want to go home first and see what food is there or just go straight to the grocery store and stock up on everything?’ Ava asked, her hand in his again as they walked out of the hospital a couple of hours later.

It had taken a lot for him to leave his dad but after spending hours with him, a grumbling hungry stomach and a platitude of reassurances that he was fine, his dad had finally ordered Ava to escort him from the building.

Stiles grimaced, both at the thought of his dad’s diet and the thought of having to go out again once they’d seen the lack of food in the house. He had no doubt that he would find a multitude of examples of how his dad had been cheating on his diet when he got back to the house. ‘Grocery store I think.’

Ava nodded when two people stopped right in front of them. Of course, one of them had to be the one person that Stiles was hoping to completely avoid this trip but it seemed his bad luck seemed to hold true in Beacon Hills.

‘Stiles?’ The man said, staring at them in shock. The woman looked slightly surprised as well.

‘Scott.’ Stiles blanked his face. He kept his heart rate calm but couldn’t help the myriad of emotions he felt coursing through him. Anger, disappointment, betrayal, pain, hurt, yearning… the list went on.

‘You’re back.’ Scott said, still staring.

‘I am.’ Stiles agreed, nodding his head.

‘Stiles.’ Malia nodded at him.

‘Well, this is scintillating.’ Ava smiled at Stiles looking utterly bored and his lips quirked up at the edges. He knew just how well she could read his body language and wondered just what exactly she was reading off of him.

‘This is Scott and Malia.’ Stiles indicated to them even though he had told Ava all about them and she could most likely guess who they were.

‘The ex-girlfriend and the ex-best friend.’ Ava grinned broadly, her bored look vanishing as it was replaced with a predatory look instead.

‘Err?’ Scott’s stare turned from Stiles to her. ‘Ex-best friend?’

Stiles snorted. Only Scott could possibly think that after everything and not speaking for nine years, that they were still best friends. He dreaded to think of the state of the pack with a mentality like that, although, Scott had always thought more of the pack than he did of Stiles.

‘Wow.’ Ava stared back at Scott before turning to Stiles. ‘You weren’t joking.’

Stiles grinned at her, hiding his hurt and going for amusement. ‘I did tell you.’

‘Err, tell you what?’ Scott cut in, looking thoroughly confused.

‘So, you two are together now?’ Stiles changed the subject as he indicated to Scott’s hand entwined in Malia’s. He had known, Lydia had told him and it had proven to him just how much Scott had thought of him, to be dating his ex. He wondered if Scott even knew why they’d broken up, especially with his views on killing.

‘Oh.’ Scott actually blushed. ‘Yeah. Since the end of the high school.’

Stiles blinked but didn’t say anything. He’d still been around at the end of high school, but then Scott had stayed on as assistant coach to help out those members of the pack that were still in school. Stiles had still been around for that year though, or been in touch while he did his first year at the FBI academy. And Scott and Malia hadn’t been a thing then, although he had had his suspicions when he and Lydia had started dating the following year.

‘No children?’ Ava asked innocently. Too innocently.

Stiles choked. He didn’t know what Ava was up to, but knew exactly how protective she was of him. Although how she knew they didn’t have children was a skill that Stiles doubted he would ever master. He certainly couldn’t tell just by looking at them.

‘I don’t want children.’ Malia said bluntly, looking slightly horrified.

‘Trust me. That’s a good thing.’ Ava smiled. Others would think she was being condescending, but Stiles recognised when she was just being truthful and didn’t feel the need to pull her punches.

Stiles bit his lip. He had never seen this side of Ava, but he had to admit, he was kind of liking it. Probably because it wasn’t, and had never been, directed at him. He’d seen her loving and caring and he’d seen her bitchy and flat out scary, he’d seen so many different sides of her, but this, this was a different type of protectiveness where she couldn’t kill, imprison or verbally take down the one hurting him. So, seeing her insult someone without it being a blatant invite for a fight, for him, was something new.

‘What the hell?’ Scott glared at her.

‘We’d better be going.’ Stiles said, amusement colouring his voice as he tried not to laugh. He pushed Ava in front of him, crowding behind her so she’d move. He didn’t bother turning to say goodbye to either of his old friends. They were no longer a part of his life.

Scott stared after his best friend in confusion until he was out of sight. He turned back to Malia. ‘What the hell just happened?’

Malia shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. ‘She didn’t say anything I didn’t already know. I’d make a terrible mother.’

‘You’d make a great mother.’ Scott corrected her, but he was no longer sure who he was trying to convince. Malia didn’t want kids, hadn’t hidden the fact that she didn’t want kids and shot down any and all of Scott’s attempts to change her mind. He was hoping that soon her biological clock, that he had heard so much about from other women, would start ticking. He was desperate for children.

Malia snorted.

Scott sighed and sent another glare to the woman’s back. He didn’t know who she was, Stiles hadn’t introduced her, but she must be controlling Stiles somehow for him to be acting like this. He’d seen them holding hands. 

There was something wrong with her, something off about her. Why had she called him Stiles’ ex-best friend? Why hadn’t Stiles corrected her? And her comment about Malia being a mother? Scott didn’t know how she had known that children was a sore subject for them. Had she looked them up? Researched them? Was she planning something? Did she know about the pack?

‘There’s something wrong with that woman.’ He muttered unhappily, Stiles was supposed to be safe and happy, kept out of everything supernatural like he’d wanted. How could he be, with a woman like that so obviously controlling him?

Malia shrugged. ‘I didn’t notice anything wrong.’

‘I don’t trust her. Call a pack meeting. We need to watch her.’

Malia raised an eyebrow but still pulled her phone out and sent out a group text.

‘Think they noticed?’ Ava asked once she was pulling out of the hospital car park. He hadn’t protested when she’d slid into the driver’s seat. Now that he’d seen his dad, and Scott, he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

Stiles raised an eyebrow while working hard in keeping his breathing even and not freaking out over the fact that that was the first time he had spoken to Scott in nine years. The last time they had spoken, Scott had kicked him out of the pack. It certainly wasn’t their best conversation but Stiles hadn’t expected Scott to just ignore what had happened between them.

He knew a confrontation between them was inevitable now. If Scott had even just acted awkward around him, instead of treating him like the side-kick-best-friend he once was, it probably would have been avoided. But not now. 

Ava raised her wrist, pulse up. It was a good way of distracting him without changing the subject. They both knew if he kept dwelling on Scott, he would most likely work himself into a panic attack and he hadn’t had one of those for years. And those had all been pack and Beacon Hills related.

He shook his head. ‘No. They weren’t expecting us. Malia might have noticed, but she would have said something if she had.’

Ava nodded. ‘The her from nine years ago would have.’

Stiles sighed in acknowledgement. ‘True.’

‘But as you said, they weren’t expecting us.’ She glanced at him pointedly.

He thumped his head back against the seat as he realised what she was getting at. ‘Melissa didn’t tell them we were coming.’

‘No. She didn’t. Curious that.’

‘Yeah.’ He frowned. ‘Why wouldn’t she tell her son that I was coming back home to look after my dad?’

Ava shrugged. ‘We don’t know what’s happening here anymore. It’s been a couple years since Lydia was last here.’

Stiles nodded. Lydia’s last visit back hadn’t been overwhelming, in fact she’d said the entire pack had been tense and on edge. She hadn’t thought they were keeping any big bad hidden from her, it was a different kind of tension she had picked up on, but they’d definitely been keeping schtum on something. Not that that was unusual, they had stopped keeping her informed of things a long time ago when she had made it clear that her allegiance lay with Stiles. But Lydia being Lydia, hadn’t really cared to push and find out. They’d lost her loyalty a long time ago and they knew it. Even Lydia was unsure if they cared or not, but they had not made any effort to win her back. The only reason they’d spoken to her, was because she’d kept in contact in Malia, and Jordan but he wasn’t technically part of the pack, choosing to stay neutral.

And his dad now knew about the supernatural, he also knew exactly how Scott had treated Stiles. The Sheriff and the pack had an alliance, Scott and his dad did not. But at least his dad was now civil and didn’t threaten to shoot Scott with wolfsbane bullets anymore. They even regularly had civil conversations, but only if there was something supernatural occurring to the extent that the Sheriff had noticed.

‘And Melissa doesn’t talk about Scott or the pack to us.’

‘Of course not.’ Ava smiled to take the bite out of her words. ‘Her two boys fell out and she won’t pick sides.’

Stiles half snorted, half laughed, because Ava was right. Melissa had taken over the role of his mother after his own had died and he’d always been a second son to her, even before his mother had died. She had somehow managed to stay on friendly terms of both sides. He really didn’t give her enough credit.

It was in the grocery store that Stiles ran into the third person from his past. He’d almost succeeded in getting out before it happened, as it was, they were next in line to pay when someone called his name. But it wasn’t anyone he’d been expecting.

‘Stiles?’

Stiles turned around to see Danny staring at him, gobsmacked. Last he’d heard, from Lydia, was that Danny had gotten out of Beacon Hills to some fancy university that she wasn’t at all jealous over, with a full scholarship. Lydia hadn’t mentioned Danny in a while but Stiles wasn’t sure if that was because she was annoyed with anything Beacon Hills or because their friendship had fallen to the wayside as theirs lives got busier.

‘You’re back?!’

Stiles nodded. ‘Danny.’

Danny winced. ‘I heard about your dad. Is that why your back?’

Stiles nodded again. ‘Yeah.’

‘He must be pleased to see you again.’

Stiles nodded a third time. He had no idea how much Danny knew, if anything. Stiles had learnt that if in doubt, assume he knew nothing. Danny hadn’t known anything about the supernatural back in high school, even though he’d been Jackson’s best friend and close with Lydia. Stiles knew that Lydia hadn’t told him since, and he doubted that Jackson would have after leaving the country.

‘It’s good to see you again.’ Danny grinned at him. ‘How long are you back?’

Stiles shrugged. ‘Not sure. Till dad’s back on his feet again.’

Danny winced. ‘I heard about that. How’s he doing?’

Stiles smiled sadly. ‘Okay actually.’

‘That’s good. What about you? How are you?’ Danny asked him with a beaming smile.

Stiles couldn’t help but smile back. It was Danny, and ten years hadn’t managed to stop him from being lovable. ‘I’m good thanks, how are you?’

‘Good, I’m good. What have you been up to?’

Stiles shrugged. It didn’t matter how lovable Danny was or still is, he was not answering that question truthfully. ‘You know, the usual, work, life.’

Danny laughed good naturedly. ‘Yeah, I know how it goes. But hey, it’s good to see you again. Isaac will be stoked to hear you’re back.’

Stiles blinked, his body freezing. ‘Isaac?’

The last he had heard, Isaac had left Beacon Hills after Allison had died, with her father. Stiles still had trouble saying that name and point blank refused to even think about that family. That part of his life was over. It still hurt thinking about Allison as well, he knew he’d been possessed and that it wasn’t his fault, but that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty or having nightmares about it, reliving it. He couldn’t remember everything the Nogitsune had done in his body, but he remembered Allison.

Isaac being back didn’t bode well. No one had heard from him after he’d left, maybe Derek had heard the odd thing, but he had been his first Alpha and the one to turn him, to take him away from the hell that was his father. He glanced at Ava, unsurprised when she pushed herself up against him, pressing her body warmth into his reassuringly, her hand slipping into his and squeezing. She knew everything about his past, so she knew exactly who Isaac had left Beacon Hills with and why he was worried.

Danny blushed, missing the moment between them. ‘Yeah, we’ve been together a couple years now. Only moved back about eight months ago.’

‘Congrats.’ Stiles smiled again, but this time it was lacking any feeling and didn’t reach his eyes. 

‘Yeah, you too.’ Danny nodded at Ava, who smiled softly at him.

‘Next!’ The cashier called interrupting them.

‘Bye Danny, it was good seeing you again.’ Stiles said quietly before turning his back on him. He didn’t want any trouble, and if Danny was with Isaac, well them, it was best to simply stay away. Which had been Stiles’ plan from the beginning. Keep his distance and stay away from anything and everything pack or supernatural related. If he could, sometimes, their jobs didn’t allow that.

‘Yeah.’ Danny blinked in surprise. ‘You too.’

Danny watched as they left the store together, bags in their outer hands as they linked their inner ones. He didn’t miss how the woman he was with nudged Stiles’ shoulder with her own or the pain in Stiles’ eyes. Something was going on there. He’d heard about the Sheriff’s accident, who hadn’t, but there was more to this story than Danny knew. Stiles had left Beacon Hills while Danny was away at university but he hadn’t heard of anything unusual about Stiles’ leaving, apart from the fact that he’d finally gotten with Lydia. Which with the pack involved, Danny had assumed that meant it was an amicable departure, but looking at Stiles now, it was anything but. And Danny was the expert at finding things out. It was clear Stiles was no longer with Lydia, that he had moved on and seemed happy with this woman.

‘That’s nineteen dollars sir.’

They looked so natural together, fitted together so seamlessly, but where was hyperactive ADHD Stiles who never stopped talking or fidgeting? What had happened in the past ten years to change Stiles so completely?

‘Sir? Nineteen dollars?’

There was definitely something wrong. It may have been ten years but ADHD was for life. And anyway, Danny knew about the supernatural. And the pack knew he knew now which was more than they had ten years ago. There was something wrong with Stiles.

‘Sir?’

Danny blinked at the cashier.

‘Nineteen dollars?’

He grinned apologetically. ‘Oh sorry, here you go.’

He handed over the cash and pulled out his phone, hitting speed dial as he left the store. He would check his easiest and closest sources first before reaching out to those who would instantly be suspicious of his questions. But he’d have to be careful, no just coming out and asking what the hell had happened to Stilinski. He had to set it up so that when he asked his questions, they were in keeping with the conversation.

‘Hey babe.’ He heard the automatic answer as his call was picked up.

He grinned into the phone as he left the store. If anyone would know anything, his boyfriend would, and if he didn’t then he would find out. He may not be pack, but he was pack adjacent. ‘You are not going to believe who’s back in town!’

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your amazing response and kindness, I hope you like this chapter just as much!
> 
> I'm pretty sure I've forgotten some tags but I'll add them as I go and remember!

‘Stiles!’ Melissa McCall pulled him into a hug the second he opened the front door. 

He was surprised it had taken this long for someone to come knocking on his dad’s door but he wasn’t surprised that it was Melissa. Or that she had obviously only just gotten off shift and come straight over. After all, she had known they were coming and when they were due to arrive. He figured there must have been some emergency to keep her from seeing them when they visited at the hospital.

‘Hey Melissa.’ He burrowed into her hug, it felt like home, she felt like home. He’d known for a while now that his home was in the people he loved and not a place. Not Beacon Hills, or even his house that he had brought with Ava. As much as he loved where he now lived, he would have no trouble moving on from it.

It had taken him a long time to be able to call her Melissa and not Mrs McCall. Even when she’d stayed with him, helping him recover after the worst year of his life, he’d still called her Mrs McCall. Both her and his dad had taken months off to look after him after Ava had found him and she’d visited with his dad often after that. Melissa had been on at him for a while to stop calling her by her surname, especially as she was divorced and it reminded her of her ex-husband. It was mainly after Ava started calling her Melissa that he slowly began to.

Just like his dad, Ava and Lydia, she had been with him when he needed her the most. He’d been surprised that she had come, let alone when she then stayed to help him. To help him recover, both physically and mentally, and move on. He wasn’t sure if he’d moved on, but he’d learnt to continue on and not dwell on what had happened. He still didn’t know what he would have done without any of them, Lydia and Ava had both become so important to him, just as important as his dad and Melissa. He trusted the four of them implicitly and without question, much like how he had once trusted Scott, only whereas Scott had repeatedly betrayed his trust, those four had stuck by him.

He didn’t know how long he stood there for, wrapped in Melissa’s embrace, but he knew it would have been awhile. It had been months since they’d last seen each other, although they did keep in contact. And of course, Stiles was still waiting for her and his dad to get their heads out of their assess and see the love for each other that was staring them in the face. He, Ava and Lydia even had bets going and the pot was getting to be a nice tidy sum which they’d agreed to give to the couple to pay for the honeymoon.

‘Hey, is Melissa going to come in or just stand in the doorway hugging you?’ Ava yelled out from the kitchen where she was tidying up from dinner.

Melissa laughed. ‘I’m coming, I’m coming.’ She held Stiles back from her and took a good look at him, smiling brightly. ‘You look good Stiles.’

He grinned back at her. ‘Right back atcha.’

She took hold of his hand as they went through the house and met Ava in the kitchen. Melissa hugged her as well.

‘It’s good to see you again.’ Ava said, breathing in the scent of Melissa. It had been ages since they’d seen her, seeing as it was down to her to come visit them. But they spoke often and with Scott living with Malia, they could now Skype when they could fit it into their busy schedules.

‘I know it’s horrible circumstances, but I am so glad you two are here.’ Melissa breathed, tension draining out of her shoulders. But it seemed to head straight towards Stiles instead. He’d been worried that being back in Beacon Hills would be code for we can talk about the pack freely. And Stiles wasn’t convinced he was ready.

Ava stilled. ‘It’s that bad huh?’

Melissa shrugged as she sat down and accepted the plate of food Ava put in front of her. ‘They try to keep me out of it.’ She nodded to Stiles. ‘Your dad too.’

Stiles tensed and looked away. It was the first time she had spoken about them, the pack, in just over eight years. Even without her naming them, they both knew who she was referring to. When Melissa had first come out to visit them with his dad, worried sick and ready to put her nursing skills to good use, she had refused to back down, insisting that Scott would want to be there for him. It was only when the full story had come out and she’d seen the evidence, that she stopped mentioning him or the pack. But it was clear how much it had pained her. That it still pained her.

Stiles sat down, feeling numb, knowing he wasn’t going to enjoy the conversation that followed. They waited while she dug in. A comfortable silence filling the air as Melissa quickly ate. They both knew how rushed she got at work and that she frequently forgot to eat.

‘Why?’ Ava asked once Melissa had eaten her fill, barely leaving anything on the plate.

Melissa sighed. ‘I tore Scott a new one for what he did, how he treated Stiles. When I found out the truth… I couldn’t look at him for the longest time.’

Stiles winced and looked up at her, anguish written over his face. ‘Melissa…’

‘This isn’t on you Stiles.’ Melissa said sadly. ‘I didn’t raise my son to treat his friends like that. To abandon them. He changed so much in that year that I no longer recognised my boy.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Stiles choked out, feeling Ava wrap her arms around him. He could feel his heartbeat as it began to race and his breath was coming in short quick gasps. He vaguely recognised the signs as the start of a panic attack, but it had been so long since he’d had one. A good couple years at least, it had been so long the feeling felt foreign to him but so, so familiar at the same time.

‘This isn’t your fault Stiles.’ Melissa told him reaching for his hand. ‘Things have changed. No one trusts each other. And I fear my son is to blame for that. When I came back, he started to flounder and has been struggling ever since. But I honestly believe that he still doesn’t know what happened to you. What he aided.’

The added contact helped. Ava pushed herself against him and he felt his chest ease and his breaths got deeper. He nodded in response to Melissa’s concerned look. She was right. Scott was still clueless and was completely oblivious to the consequences of his actions. Some things never changed. It seemed that even after all this time, Scott still hadn’t grown up.

‘Is the pack still together?’ Ava asked once his heart rate and breathing had settled.

Melissa nodded. ‘Yes. I don’t know exactly who’s in the pack. Mainly only the humans. I only know when something goes wrong and I have to patch someone up.’

‘Sounds like nothing’s changed then.’ Stiles said, attempting humour but his voice was gravelly and hoarse.

She smiled anyway. ‘No, I suppose not. There are a few new faces. And a few old ones returned.’

Stiles nodded. ‘I heard Isaac is back.’

Melissa smiled. ‘Yeah he and Danny are good together. When they’re actually together.’

‘Oh, that sounds like a story there?’ Ava smiled, giving Stiles a squeeze.

He nodded back at her, grateful.

‘They’ve been on and off for years.’ Melissa admitted. ‘It’s not pleasant to be around them when they’re not together. Their first break up was here and it was… bad doesn’t quite cover it. They used to move around a lot for Isaacs work but he got offered a full-time job here start of last school year. So they came back.’

‘Really?’ Stiles asked, surprise colouring his voice. ‘But Danny’s so… so…’

‘Danny?’ Melissa finished for him with a laugh.

‘Yeah!’

‘I have no idea what that means.’ Ava told them both bluntly.

Melissa laughed again. ‘It’s hard to explain, you’ll understand when you meet him.’

‘Is Danny in the know now?’

Melissa nodded. ‘Yeah. I don’t know how long he’s known for. They spend a bit of time with the pack, but not a whole lot. Danny doesn’t seem too comfortable around them.’

Stiles groaned. ‘I bet he figured it out in high school and just let us suffer trying to keep it a secret.’

‘Wait,’ Ava frowned at her. ‘How do you know that?’

Melissa grimaced. ‘Isaac kept in contact.’

Stiles took a deep breath, inadvertently squeezing Ava’s hand tightly. He hadn’t known that, it surprised him even though it shouldn’t have. Isaac had lived with Melissa and Scott for a while after all.

Ava smiled, not fussed by the tightness of his grip. ‘So, is Danny not comfortable with the supernatural?’

Melissa shook her head. ‘Isaac says he is, that it’s something else. I have a feeling it’s whatever they keep breaking up over. But we can figure that out later, although it was probably Isaac who told him. We’ve got a lot of work to do here before your father can come home.’

Stiles nodded, accepting the change in subject. ‘He doesn’t look as tired.’

Melissa hummed but she looked troubled. ‘He’s been getting a lot of rest in the hospital. After the car accident, he slept a lot more than we were anticipating.’

‘He was rundown.’ Ava surmised with a concerned look.

Melissa nodded.

‘He still looks worried.’

Melissa winced. ‘He is.’

‘What aren’t you saying?’ Ava picked up on her hesitation instantly.

‘Sometimes, it feels like he’s just going through the motions.’

Stiles frowned, immediately on high alert. ‘What, like he no longer cares?’

Melissa shook her head and shrugged. ‘No, I don’t know. It’s just, the last couple years, he’s tired. He admits that. I don’t know if it’s just his age or something else. He is coming up to retirement age.’

‘I didn’t think he’d ever want to retire.’ Stiles murmured stunned. He didn’t know what to think. He’d never, in a million years, thought his dad would ever not want to be Sheriff or tire of the job.

‘He never did, but now? I’m not so sure.’

‘So, what do we do?’ Ava asked with a quick look at Stiles. 

They both knew that Melissa knew Noah the best and was around him the most. And there was no way they could let this be. That wasn’t Noah. The job had got him through so much, it wasn’t like him to just no longer care.

She shrugged. ‘In the long run? I don’t know, but for now, you two sleep, get some rest. We’ll tackle the house tomorrow.’

‘Thanks Melissa.’ Ava smiled at her.

Stiles nodded numbly. That wasn’t like his dad. Beacon Hills and being Sheriff meant everything to him, his mum was buried here, all their memories of her were here. What did Melissa mean, sometimes he was going through the motions? Was he getting fed up of the supernatural crap? Or of the human crap? Or was he just tired and needed a break? A well-deserved and long overdue break. But retirement? That was permanent, not just a break.

Stiles woke early, unsurprised to find himself entwined around Ava, her head at an awkward angle leant away from him, but the rest of her body was wrapped up intricately with his. He took a moment to just lay there, knowing the second he made any move to get out of bed, the movement would wake her.

It was peaceful, lying in his childhood bed with his best friend asleep in his arms, even knowing where he was. That he was back in Beacon Hills, not far from his old best friend and his old group of friends that had followed his best friend and forgotten about him. Well, with the exception of one. Lydia, his goddess Lydia, had followed him, even when she couldn’t find him. And his dad, but then, his dad had never been pack, not like he and Lydia had been. Although sometimes he wondered if he had ever been pack. Plus, his dad was his dad, and had told him numerous times that he would always be there for him. And while that had all been said after Stiles had been kicked to the curb and his dad and Lydia had spent almost a year searching for him, it didn’t make it any less true. And, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, and his dads’ actions, as well as Lydia’s, Melissa’s and Ava’s, had proved that they were all there for him.

Once Ava had found him, she hadn’t needed any help in looking after him and healing him, nor had she needed to stick around after she’d rescued him, but she had. She’d helped him come to terms with everything. And his dad and Melissa had insisted on being there with him and for him. He still didn’t know what excuse they had given for their extended absence from Beacon Hills while they looked after him, nor had he ever asked. Too afraid of the answer. Too afraid to accidentally hear something about his ex-best friend and his ex-pack. They had put him in that position but he could forgive them that, they had been manipulated after all, and by a master. He’d heard the interrogation and the reasons of how and why it was done to him. But he could not forgive them for not helping. For refusing to help. For not even trying to find him or to try and keep in touch with him. For refusing to listen to his dad and Lydia. For ignoring all the signs. For ignoring him. For not even bothering. That he did blame them for, especially Scott, he was the Alpha after all and the others all followed him, even if not his example. Not one of them had even bothered to send him a single text, not even Malia, and Stiles knew that even if Scott had ordered them all not to contact him, which he doubted, if they’d wanted to, they would have ignored Scott and it wouldn’t have been the first time.

He felt Ava stirring about twenty minutes later and allowed himself to yawn loudly. ‘You want first shower?’

‘Nngh. Coffee.’ She mumbled, burrowing deep into his embrace for a couple seconds before stretching out all of her limbs. He smiled, she often reminded him of a cat. She glared at him. ‘How long have you been awake?’

He shrugged. ‘Half hour or so.’

‘Urgh, do not become a morning person.’ She closed her eyes and snuggled back into the bed.

He laughed, kissed her forehead and disentangled himself before heading for the shower. Ava had made the coffee and was already on her second cup when Stiles came down.

‘Plan for today?’ She asked as he helped himself to the rest of the coffee, adding in cream, sugar and syrup.

‘Change the downstairs office into a bedroom for dad.’ Stiles said after he’d taken a long relaxing sip of his coffee. ‘Make everywhere wheelchair friendly.’

Ava nodded. ‘Shouldn’t be too hard. We can do the bedroom today, see what needs to be done for the downstairs bathroom. Make sure he can access the coffee machine.’

Stiles nodded. ‘Hopefully the wheelchair can get through all the doorways and we’ll need a ramp for the steps up to the front door.’

‘We can do that last. I doubt he’ll be going in and out on his own for the first few days, but he’ll want to feel independent.’

Stiles nodded. There was no way his dad would cope if he felt he was depending on them for every little thing.

It only took them a day to get the house sorted, and with Melissa’s support, Noah came home the next day. He’d insisted on working from home, so Stiles wasn’t too surprised when the doorbell rang and he found deputy Jordan Parrish on the other side, sheepishly holding an armful of case files. It hadn’t surprised Stiles that his dad had still been working, even in the hospital, going over cases.

Stiles was glad that Jordan had stuck around, he’d kept an eye on his dad like no one else could, what with being his deputy and a hellhound. He had no doubt that if his dad ever did retire, then Jordan was in line for Sheriff. It helped that being a hellhound, Jordan didn’t need or feel any pull towards being part of a pack, he was completely neutral.

Stiles smiled wryly as he welcomed the other man in. ‘I’m not exactly thrilled that he’s still working, but this is Beacon Hills, supernatural crime centre.’

‘Sorry Stiles.’ Jordan winced. ‘I tried to delay it as long as possible, but he’s still the Sheriff.’

‘Yeah he is.’ Stiles agreed, leading Jordan through to the kitchen where his dad and Ava was sat. ‘Jordan, this is Ava, Ava, Jordan. So, what’s the big bad this time?’

‘No.’ Noah said forcefully. ‘I’m not letting you get dragged back into anything dangerous here Stiles.’

‘So, it’s supernatural then?’ Stiles asked, ignoring his father while Ava smiled at Jordan and asked if he wanted a coffee.

Noah sighed. ‘Scott doesn’t think so.’

Stiles narrowed his eyes. ‘But you do?’

Noah shrugged but still glared at him. ‘You are not getting involved.’

‘Then you’re not working from home.’ Stiles grinned smugly, knowing that his dad would cave. His dad couldn’t not work, especially when his help was needed.

Noah glared at his son. ‘Fine.’ He gritted out, pushing the files back to Jordan. A smug smile emerged on his dad’s face when Stiles didn’t hide the shock he felt. It didn’t help that Melissa’s words popped back into his head. That his dad didn’t seem to care anymore and was just going through the motions. Had he just wanted an excuse to not work and not feel guilty over it? Or could his dad honestly not want him looking into it?

Stiles narrowed his eyes, he couldn’t accuse his dad of no longer caring. ‘It must be bad if you don’t want me involved.’

Noah sighed. ‘Stiles, you got out, maybe not willingly, but there’s a reason you haven’t come back in nine years. I don’t want you dragged back in.’

Stiles gulped, his face serious and he nodded unsteadily. ‘Okay.’ He rasped out. ‘Yeah, okay.’

Ava placed a coffee in front of Jordan, wrapped Stiles’ hand in her own reassuringly and brightly changed the subject. ‘So, what are we doing today? I was thinking an outing somewhere.’

Noah clapped his hands together, grinning broadly. ‘I know just the thing!’

‘And that’s my cue to leave.’ Jordan smiled when he stood up and transferred his coffee to a to-go cup before leaving, but it didn’t escape any of them when he left the files on the table.

‘Seriously dad, it’s a salad. It’s not going to kill you.’ Stiles looked at him unimpressed, feeling a little smug with himself.

The fire department was holding a fundraiser in the park and as Sheriff, Noah had insisted they go. Even though he’d only just been discharged from the hospital. Stiles had been too relieved that his dad cared to refuse him, Melissa’s words still echoing around his head. He didn’t know if it was because his dad was feeling rested or because he was home but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He knew it would be busy but as his dad was injured, he had to go with him. Stiles no longer did well in crowds. 

Ava had been excited to go, but probably due to her fascination with fire rather than any civic duty. But being with an injured Sheriff seemed to have its perks, they were instantly given a picnic table where many others were having to make do with a blanket on the ground, unfortunately for them they were given a table not far from a familiar group of people who were forgoing the table and the blanket on the ground. A group of people Stiles had wanted to avoid. 

Scott was sat on the ground with Malia next to him, their legs entwined with paper plates full of food. They were surrounded by what Stiles presumed was the pack now. He recognised the ones who’d joined the year Stiles had tried to become an FBI agent: Liam, Corey, and Mason. There was the kid Alec, who they’d saved before Scott had kicked him out, and there were now several others interspersed between them all that Stiles didn’t know. Two women and three men. All young, younger than him and Scott. Scott obviously hadn’t learnt from Derek’s mistakes about biting teenagers.

Stiles forced himself not to react when he saw Danny and Isaac sat with them, but then Danny waved at him enthusiastically and he had to nod back. Isaac he had been expecting, being a werewolf and all, he needed to join a pack to avoid becoming an omega. But he hadn’t been expecting Danny to be sitting with the pack, even if they were the furthest away from Scott. Melissa was right that Danny was in the know now and that he seemed uncomfortable, but not with the pack. Danny looked relaxed and at ease with those surrounding him, but he didn’t seem happy. And his eager greeting to Stiles wasn’t expected either.

What did surprise Stiles the most was the fact that Derek was there, sat on the outskirts behind Isaac and Danny. Looking just as broody and gorgeous as he had been nine years ago and unsurprised to see Stiles back. He supposed that Danny had told Isaac who had told Derek. Although strangely, he didn’t look half as grumpy or tense as he used to. He didn’t blame Derek for what he’d done, he’d long ago figured out that there was more to the story than he knew, but he knew how unlikely it was that he would ever find out and had made peace with that.

As long as they left him alone, everything would be fine. Scott looked almost constipated as Stiles, his dad and Ava were led to the table that had a massive reserved sign on it. Whoever had organised it must have known that Stiles and Ava were coming with him as there were three chairs surrounding the small wooden picnic table. Stiles ignored the entire pack, although he did see Derek’s nostril’s flaring and his eyes widened slightly. Isaac glanced at him, worry evident in his look. Stiles hid his smile as he realised what the wolves were smelling, or rather, not smelling. He very purposefully sat with his back to them and when no one had approached them, knew it had worked.

‘It’s a salad, I can’t live off rabbit food. Even the hospital was feeding me better than this!’ Noah complained, looking at his son hopefully as Ava helped him manoeuvre into the seat. Not the easiest thing to do with opposite arm and leg bound in cast and his refusal to stay in the wheelchair.

Stiles scoffed as he set their plates down. ‘That’s because they weren’t worried about your blood pressure.’

‘You guys made it!’ Melissa called happily as she made her way through the crowd with her own plate of food. 

She waved to Scott, but didn’t make any attempt to join him, instead making it clear that she was joining the Stilinski’s and Ava. Scott looked like he’d eaten an entire barrel of lemons.

‘Told you we would.’ Noah said smugly and Stiles shot him an unimpressed stare. If he didn’t know his father’s feelings regarding Scott, he would have already jumped to the conclusion that this was a set-up for them to talk it out.

Ava stood, allowing Melissa her seat as she plonked herself down in Stiles’ lap. Stiles automatically wrapped an arm around her wrist to keep her steady and carried on picking at his own food. 

‘How are you liking your new bedroom Noah?’ Melissa asked.

Noah grinned at her. ‘The kids did good. It’s comfy and I can reach everything I need. It’s nice having them in the house again.’

Melissa laughed. ‘Good, I haven’t missed Ava’s pancakes yet, have I?’

Ava laughed. ‘Of course not. Stiles is still going on about Noah’s heart, but I’ll let you know the moment he relents.’

‘Hey!’ Stiles squawked indignantly and Melissa beamed her approval.

‘And you two remember to give him peace and time to rest and heal.’ Melissa waved her fork at them in mock sternness.

‘Hey, we do.’ They both answered at the same time.

‘And I remember what it’s like living with the pair of you.’ Melissa grinned at them and Ava laughed.

‘We are not that bad.’ Stiles grumbled.

‘I’m pretty sure we are.’ Ava grinned, knocking her head gently into his, as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

‘I still don’t know why they set up the guest room for Ava. It’s not like I don’t know she’s slept in Stiles’ bed and will do so every night.’

Stiles cackled. ‘Busted!’

‘Hey!’ Ava exclaimed indignantly. ‘How do you know? Maybe I made the bed before getting up?’

The sheriff eyed her. ‘Did you?’

She grinned. ‘No, I slept with Stiles.’

Noah leaned forwards to Melissa. ‘I don’t think they know we know that they share a room in their house.’

Ava laughed. ‘It’s not that, but this is your house, I don’t want to be disrespectful assuming that I can stay in your son’s room.’

Noah reached over with his good hand to get her attention. ‘Ava, after everything, there is no way you could ever be disrespectful. I owe you everything.’

Ava rolled her eyes. ‘In which case, can I have your tomatoes?’

Stiles promptly stuffed three of his in his mouth.

‘What the hell?’ Isaac muttered. Derek could see him watching him as he tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down. 

It was hard seeing Stiles with someone else. He had been prepared to see him with Lydia, knew the probability of seeing him or running into him soon was high. But he had still allowed Isaac to talk him into coming, into thinking that with the Sheriff only newly discharged from hospital that he might not be there. Isaac had told him that Danny had seen him in the store.

He didn’t know who this new woman was, but he already knew to be wary. As did Isaac if his sideways glances were anything to go by. But it was clear that Stiles loved her. Derek hadn’t kept in contact with anyone so had thought that he was still with Lydia, and even though it hurt to think about, he still wondered what had happened between them and how Stiles had met this one. Especially as the reason Stiles had left was because he’d wanted nothing to do with the supernatural world and she was clearly supernatural.

Derek could see just how easy they were with one another, how casually they learnt into each other’s touch, invaded each other’s personal space as if it was completely natural, and it probably was. Derek was an idiot for feeling this way about Stiles and holding onto it for so long. Had been told so repeatedly, but he hadn’t wanted to not have these feelings for Stiles.

‘What?’ Scott frowned over at them, then grimaced at Derek. Derek took another breath so he didn’t take his feelings out on Scott, although that didn’t mean that he couldn’t picture slamming Scott’s face into a solid steel wall. ‘So Stiles has a girlfriend. Get over it.’

Malia snorted. ‘Yeah, sure, like you are?’

Derek had never loved his cousin more.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Liam frowned in confusion and Derek allowed them to take the lead, it would be interesting to see how well-developed Scott’s pack was. After nine years, they should be a force to be reckoned with, even if they were on the small side. ‘Is she the one you think is controlling Stiles? She sounds nice and doesn’t smell supernatural.’

Derek had to force himself not to stare at the beta incredulously, was he serious? He didn’t think she was a threat because she sounded nice? And she didn’t smell supernatural? What was Scott even doing with his pack?

Isaac chuckled darkly. ‘Oh, she’s supernatural all right.’

Derek felt a small amount of smug satisfaction that it was his beta, even though he and Isaac were no longer technically pack, that had figured out what he had. Even if it was stupidly easy to figure out.

Scott grinned smugly, then he frowned in confusion. ‘How can you tell?’

Derek blinked and kept his face blank. If Scott hadn’t picked up on it, no wonder none of his pack hadn’t either. What the hell was he teaching them? How were they not all dead by now?

Isaac raised an eyebrow at him, his expression blank. ‘How can you not tell?’

‘But Liam’s right, she doesn’t smell supernatural.’ Scott looked at Isaac blankly.

‘No.’ Derek bit out sharply, having had enough of their stupidity. ‘She doesn’t smell at all. Neither does Stiles.’

It was disconcerting, and not just because he was desperate to smell Stiles’ scent again, but to not get any reading from either of them, to not know what this woman was, to not get a good or even a bad feeling from her, it was unnerving.

‘What?’ Scott asked loudly, his head whipping around back to Stiles and staring at him with wide eyes. Derek let out a small breath and by Isaac’s grimace, knew he had heard.

‘They’re laughing, happy.’ Isaac explained patiently, more patiently than Derek would have. ‘But I can’t smell any of that. I can smell Melissa and the Sheriff, but not Stiles or the woman. And even their basic scent. It’s dulled, almost like it isn’t there. I could track them, but it would be hard.’

Isaac was right, it would be very hard to track them. Derek could probably track them in his full shift okay, but he was the only werewolf here that could fully shift into a wolf. That he knew of anyway, he wouldn’t put it past Scott to keep something like that quiet and from non-pack. Especially if it wasn’t Scott who could do it.

‘But I could tell when she lied about sleeping in the guest room.’ Scott frowned, looking thoroughly lost.

Derek seriously wondered about the state and effectiveness of this pack. Thank God he was no longer part of it.

Isaac stared at him for a moment before blanking his expression. Not that it blanked his emotions, even if he did have good control over them, Derek could still smell his exasperation and worry. By the still lost look on Scott’s face, and the disinterest on the others, Derek doubted they could. ‘That’s because you can hear her heartbeat, lying isn’t a scent.’

‘Oh yeah. What does that mean though? The no scent thing?’ Scott asked, worry in his voice, glancing uneasily at Derek as he glared at something behind him. It was probably Scott’s way of not glaring at Derek when he desperately wanted to, but Derek didn’t give a toss about Scott anymore, he was only here out of loyalty to Isaac.

‘It means that either that woman and Stiles have no emotions and barely any scent,’ Derek took a deep breath as he attempted to explain to Scott, for Isaac’s sake. ‘Or they’ve found a way to mask them.’

‘So I was right.’ Scott declared, a superior look and smug scent emanating from him. ‘We need to watch her.’

Danny sighed and closed his eyes momentarily as Isaac and Derek shared a worried glance. Derek was with Danny on this one. None of this was boding well, although it might prove to Isaac that he was not suited to being in Scott’s pack, but at what cost? Stiles was usually the one who paid for Scott’s actions, no matter how much he had always brushed it off and pretended he was fine. Derek had no idea how Scott had managed to ignored his best friends lies time and time again, but he was not letting that happen again. Stiles might not have gotten away from the supernatural world like he wanted, but he had gotten away from Beacon Hills like he wanted. And Derek would quite happily forfeit his own life for Stiles’. He doubted that that would be required, but with Scott and Beacon Hills, you never knew.

  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting this chapter up a little earlier than planned before I accidentally delete it again! If you follow me on twitter, you'll see I just had a major panic!
> 
> Also I didn't realise til I was editing it that there isn't anything from Stiles's POV in this chapter, but I still hope you all enjoy it. Thank you all for your kudos and comments - they really mean so much, you've all been so lovely and kind!

‘Found anything?’ Scott asked hopefully as Corey walked in.

He knew that this Ava woman Stiles was with was bad news, that she was controlling him. Stiles couldn’t possibly have feelings for someone like that. He just had to prove it and then Stiles would come back to him, hopefully thankful and calling bygones be bygones. He would be saving his friend and it would be good to have his best friend back and by his side. He just needed to figure out a way for Stiles to see that Ava was supernatural and to break her control over him and get her to leave Beacon Hills. Without Stiles. He missed his best friend and while he had honestly believed that Stiles would have returned years ago, better late than never. Hopefully they could now go back to how things were supposed to be. It hurt that once he had finally accepted and come to terms with who and what he now was, his best friend had suddenly wanted nothing to do with this world. He’d done everything right, Stiles had wanted a way out without feeling guilty for leaving them and Scott had given him that.

Corey shook his head as he headed over to settle in next to Mason who immediately allowed him to cuddle into his side. Even all these years later, they were still the ideal couple that made others feel as if there was something lacking in their own relationship. Scott wasn’t sure if he’d ever even seen them argue and they’d adopted their first child a year ago. Not that he was jealous, not in the slightest. Nor did he abuse his Alpha status to get the best babysitting duties, not that Malia had been enthusiastic about that. ‘I’ve been following them all day and nothing. If she’s supernatural, she isn’t acting it.’

Scott frowned. ‘Has she been with Stiles all day?’ Corey nodded and Scott stared at him, unbelieving of how stupid his beta could be sometimes. The answer was so obvious, it was staring them in the face. ‘Then of course she isn’t acting supernatural! She obviously doesn’t want Stiles to know!’

Scott saw Mason and Corey share a look and even though neither of them said anything, he knew what they were thinking. They hadn’t believed him that she was supernatural until Isaac had pointed it out and even though he hadn’t picked up on their lack of scent, his instincts had been right on the money. He knew he should have realised they had no scent, especially Stiles seeing as he’d missed him so much, but it had been so long since they had seen each other, since he’d smelt his best friend. He didn’t blame any of the others for not picking it up either, especially as Corey and Mason weren’t even werewolves and didn’t have their sense of smell. He just didn’t know why it was so hard to prove that she was supernatural, although they did need to figure out what she was first. He’d had Mason hitting the books but they didn’t have much to go on, all they knew was that she could hide her scent and was controlling Stiles. And as good as Mason was at research, he didn’t have Stiles’ enthusiasm for it or knack for finding the relevant information. But he was still the best they had and seeing that they were all still alive, that wasn’t a small thing.

‘So we try and separate them?’ Corey asked hesitantly, sounding more than a little confused. 

Scott saw him glance wide-eyed at Mason out the corner of his eye. Sometimes their looks reminded him of how out of his element he was. That he was winging it and had been for the past seven or eight years. He’d lost his support system and had been making it up ever since. He’d gotten better at it, he’d had to otherwise they all would have died a long time ago and there was no way he was going to do a Derek Hale and let onto the others just how out of his depth he really was. He refused to make the same mistakes Derek had made, he never pushed his pack to breaking point in training or threw them into things, well not deliberately anyway. He never yelled at them or refused to answer their questions, although he was getting good at evading them when he didn’t know the answer. He fully believed he knew what he was doing most of the time now, but it wasn’t easy, hadn’t been easy and those looks sometimes threw him for a loop. He no longer had his trusted best friend to fall back on, who would always back him no matter what, and sometimes he wondered who he could trust. 

Especially as Scott knew just how bright and intelligent Corey was, he never understood why he acted dumb so often but his question gave Scott an epiphany. To be fair, they usually did, it was why it was only the three of them. As much as he loved Malia, he worked his best with just these two around. ‘Brilliant! Yes Corey, we need to separate them, but they can’t know what we’re doing.’

Once they had successfully separated them, his pack would pretend to attack this Ava, she would defend herself and they would find out what she was, hopefully scaring her away in the process. It was a long shot that she’d leave, and he would come up with another and better plan nearer the time just in case she stayed, after all Stiles had always told him to have back-up plans, but he could always hope. He wasn’t a fan of confrontation, but he’d rather confront someone than fight them. And Stiles would be thankful for having his eyes opened. For being shown what his girlfriend really was and that she was controlling him. After everything that had happened with the Nogitsune, Scott really couldn’t believe that it was happening to Stiles again. It was like he was some sort of evil supernatural magnet. It really wasn’t fair, but once this was all over and Stiles was once again part of his pack, Scott would make sure he was looked after.

‘How do we separate them then?’ Mason frowned. ‘If they’re spending all of their time together?’

Scott sighed and threw himself into his seat, the chair that all others faced, showing that he was in charge. After all he was the Alpha. ‘I’ll have a think and come up with a plan.’

He always came up with the plans, Corey and Mason usually helped, if you could call it that. They would ask random questions and make vague comments, joke around and act like idiots and then suddenly a fully formed plan would pop into Scott’s head, but he always made sure to give them credit, without their weird ramblings he never came up with decent plans. He’d told Malia this once and she’d laughed in his face hysterically for several minutes. Once she’d calmed down, he’d frowned at her asking what was wrong but it had only set her off again. He’d never asked again.

Scott’s face suddenly lit up as another idea popped into his head. ‘Could she be the one doing these recent killings?’

It would explain so much and would instantly turn Stiles away from her and back towards the pack, just as soon as Scott explained. And once Stiles saw how Ava was controlling him, he knew that Stiles would never be able to forgive her, not after he’d been possessed by the Nogitsune. He knew that Stiles would forgive him, that he would see that Scott had only had Stiles’ best interest in mind when he had told him he was no longer pack. How else would Stiles have been able to leave Beacon Hill’s guilt free or at all? So Scott had manned up and done what had needed to be done. He’d allowed Stiles to go out and live the life he wanted to without feeling any guilt for leaving them behind. Scott knew that being a werewolf meant he was tied to his territory, tied to Beacon Hills, but Stiles wasn’t, and Stiles deserved to be able to go out into the world.

‘Didn’t they start before she and Stiles came back?’ Mason asked slowly, a doubtful expression on his face but Scott ignored that even though he was right in that the recent spate of deaths had definitely started before she had entered their town though, although...

Scott snorted as a smug smile crossed his face. ‘Do we even know when she got to town?’

‘But the deaths started before the Sheriff got hurt.’ Corey pointed out, smiling inanely. 

Sometimes Scott wondered about his beta’s. He shrugged unconcerned, pushing away the thought wondering if Corey was deliberately acting stupid. ‘Doesn’t mean she wasn’t in town then. And she doesn’t have a scent, just like the killer.’

‘But I thought the killer did have a scent, just a faint one.’

Scott scoffed and tried hard not to roll his eyes, ignoring their dubious looks. ‘Yeah, of the previous victim. Each victim smelt like the one previous, it’s obvious she’s just been playing with us. If she can mask her scent, then she can easily change her scent to her victims.’

‘Derek?’ Isaac asked hesitantly as he pushed open the door to the house Derek was staying in.

It was an old Hale property, a couple years ago Derek and Cora had decided on embracing and building on the Hale legacy. Their family had owned a few properties in and around Beacon Hills, and other areas, and they’d had them done up and either sold or rented out. Isaac and Danny currently lived in one. It was perfect for him and Danny, not that he was surprised as they’d designed it with them in mind as soon as he’d mentioned he’d applied for a job here.

The old Hale house had been torn down and a memorial raised in its place. Neither sibling, nor Peter, had wanted to rebuild the old house. It would never be the same again and they’d wanted to honour the memory of the fallen family. This house that Derek was currently staying in had only recently been vacated, so Derek had taken the opportunity to stay in it before they got someone in to do it up for the next tenant. 

He winced when Derek appeared in the doorway that led down to the basement where he kept all his gym equipment. It wasn’t like he could afford people accidentally seeing him workout and questioning how he managed to bench press that much. Derek was pulling a shirt on but he was still sweaty and out of breath. It took a lot to make a werewolf sweaty and out of breath.

Foregoing his first question and asking Derek how he was, Isaac could quite easily guess having been in that boat, he asked his next question. ‘How long you been down there?’

Derek shrugged and headed to the kitchen, returning moments later with a half empty bottle of water.

Isaac hated that Derek was going through this, he’d had so much shit thrown at him throughout his life, he couldn’t seem to catch a break. Not just all the shit that had gone down here, losing his family and pack, not just once but twice. His love life was a joke and not just because of Kate and Jennifer, but the guilt over Paige, the failed relationship with Braeden that was really just a distraction from the person he had been in love with for over ten years. And Isaac knew exactly how hard it was to move from someone when you didn’t want to. ‘I’m sorry Derek, I didn’t know he was going to be there. Until Danny said, I didn’t think he’d even be in Beacon Hills.’

Derek shrugged. ‘Don’t worry. The sheriff was hurt, of course he’d come back.’

Isaac breathed out noisily. He knew it still didn’t make it okay, but at least Derek didn’t hold it against him, not that he ever would. But a lifetime of worrying didn’t go away just because he didn’t have his father to fear anymore. And his relationship with Derek had changed a lot in recent years. He’d seen Derek at his lowest, just like Derek had seen him at his lowest. It was hard to fear someone when you had helped bring them back from the brink, however worry and anxiety didn’t go away overnight, or ever. ‘Scott didn’t think he would.’

‘Scott’s an idiot.’

Isaac tried not to show his upset. He knew that Derek didn’t hold any good will towards Scott, and he couldn’t blame Derek for that. He honestly had no idea what the hell Scott had been thinking all those years ago, but he honestly believed that Scott had potential, he was a True Alpha after all. ‘I didn’t know he’d broken up with Lydia. Danny said he’d been with someone but I didn’t think.’

Derek shrugged again.

Isaac winced again. ‘I know you were happy where you were, where you are. Settled. I didn’t want to disrupt that. You’ve worked hard to get where you are and I debated for so long about asking you to come back…’

He had debated long and hard over whether or not to ask Derek to return, if Derek was the right person to ask to do this, but at the end of the day, Derek was the only person to ask to do this. He was wondering if he’d made a mistake in asking Derek to return, he hadn’t really been thinking of Derek and what this might do to him, or how it might affect him. And the guilt was eating away at him, but his feelings didn’t nullify his reasons. They were still there and very much present.

Derek sighed when Isaac trailed off. ‘But Scott’s making the same mistakes I did.’

‘Not just that.’ Isaac shook his head. ‘He’s already made those mistakes, he’s making worse mistakes. I mean, you and Stiles? What he did to you both? That was fucked up.’

‘I didn’t come back because Scott was being an idiot. He’s always an idiot. I came back because you asked me to.’

Isaac ducked his head. He owed Derek so much just for hearing him out, but then, eventually, he’d agreed and returned here, because Isaac had asked him to, even though Derek’s whole pack had been against the idea. Had been very vocal, loud and threatening in their dislike of this plan. But Derek had insisted, and then insisted that he go alone with Isaac, that none of his current pack come back with him. It would just put Scott’s back up even more, and as much as Isaac hated to admit it, Derek was right. If he’d returned with anyone from his current pack, Scott would have been livid instead of quietly simmering.

‘You don’t think he can come back from this.’ His voice was barely a whisper.

Derek sighed, standing by the window and staring out. ‘I knew I was making mistakes.’

‘And Scott doesn’t.’ Isaac knew his pain was written all over his face, he could hear it in his voice and wouldn’t be surprised if Derek could smell it as well.

‘He should do, he’s been an alpha long enough.’

Isaac looked up to Derek imploringly, puppy dog eyes on full display. He’d been open with Derek from the start, telling him everything he knew and Derek had spent the last couple of weeks with him and the pack, seeing for himself and hopefully coming up with a plan. ‘What are you going to do?’

Derek shrugged, looking resigned. ‘I don’t know if there’s anything I can do. If Scott doesn’t want my help or even realise anything is wrong…’

Isaac closed his eyes as his shoulders dropped. Scott had no clue. Nor was he exactly pleased that Derek was back and in his territory, but he couldn’t exactly stop Derek from being here since technically this was Hale territory. Not that Isaac was sure that Scott even knew that. He remembered how reticent Deaton had been with volunteering information, and how uninterested Scott had been to learn said information unless it pertained to the current evil threatening them or whatever girl he was head over heels in love with.

‘You need a pack Isaac, why have you held out in joining Scott for so long?’

Isaac shrugged, looking helpless. That was the million-dollar question that Isaac asked himself every day. He’d lied to himself for the longest time blaming Danny, but he knew that Danny wasn’t the reason and he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, ever lie to Derek. ‘I don’t know, I want to but it just doesn’t seem right. I don’t know why.’

Derek looked at him curiously. ‘What does your wolf think?’

‘My wolf?’ Isaac asked surprised. His wolf was part of him, what was Derek talking about? Chris had spent a while teaching him how to embrace his wolf side and to be at peace with his wolf, but being a retired hunter, he hadn’t known all that much about it. He had however been able to teach Isaac how to survive without an actual pack, although Isaac had viewed Chris as his Alpha for many years. By the time he’d realised that he no longer viewed Chris as his Alpha and pack, he had already learnt how to survive just being affiliated to several packs. It didn’t take the longing and yearning for pack away, he was used to that, but it did stave off the feral-ness that came with being an omega.

Derek nodded. ‘You need to listen to your wolf. Sometimes when something feels off or wrong, it’s your wolf picking up on things your human side hasn’t.’

Isaac sighed, he’d known that there were things that Chris couldn’t teach him which was why he’d affiliated himself with so many different packs, learning their ways and customs, but it seemed that there was still more for him to learn about being a werewolf.

‘There’s been another murder.’ Stacey sighed as she threw herself down in the last remaining seat in Scott and Malia’s house.

She was exhausted and just wanted to go straight to bed but had known her Alpha would want to know this. She’d also known that he’d want the entire pack there but she knew that if she called a pack meeting, then everyone would be ordered out to where the girl had been killed. While she would normally be up for that, she had just pulled a double shift and was exhausted.

Which was probably why she hadn’t counted on several of the pack already being at his house, but she supposed, with Scott’s paranoia over this Stiles guy and his girlfriend, she should have expected it.

She was a new recruit, one that Scott had bitten out of desperation a couple years ago. She’d just finished a rotation at the hospital and been attacked. She was dying and the only way to save her was to bite her. Scott had hesitated, she’d been older than he would have liked, early twenties, but he couldn’t let her die. He had never regretted his decision since, at least not that he’d ever let on and he was really good at projecting his feelings. She’d figured out her Alpha’s good and bad points quite early on and knew exactly how to read him.

Stacey just wasn’t sure if given a choice again, she’d ask him to save her. Not that she hated being a wolf, she loved that, but she hadn’t signed up for being a werewolf, for being part of a pack and a pack of misfits at that, whose Alpha more often than not, acted like a petty teenager. If not for Corey and Mason, she would have left a long time ago, despite her fear of running into other packs or encroaching on another pack’s territory. She had transferred to the morgue after the bite, finding the busy hospital too much for her werewolf senses and had been the best asset to the pack since. At least she was in her own opinion.

‘What?’ Scott asked looking disappointed, but she knew that while he was upset about the murder, he wasn’t upset about the girl whose life had been brutally ripped away. Once they’d caught those responsible for this, he would never think of the victims again, whereas they were all burned into her memory. Although that could be down to the fact that she was the one who did the autopsies on almost all of them. But she still remembered the ones she hadn’t cut open. Their deaths had been supernatural, and she was part of the pack that had meant to protect them. She felt as if she had failed each and every one of them. ‘Who?’

Stacey shrugged as if unconcerned, but knew that every werewolf could feel how much it was hurting her. ‘Jane Doe at the moment. But she’s young, so someone must be missing her.’

‘Same M.O?’ Mason asked, dread showing on his face.

Stacey nodded grimly. ‘Yeah, her neck, thighs and wrists were mauled and she’d bled out. Lost almost all her blood. Just finished the autopsy. The police think she was moved as there wasn’t enough blood where she was found. And there’s the faint smell of the last guy who was killed all over her.’

‘Shit.’ Corey cursed. ‘Where was she found?’

‘Behind the old cinema.’

‘Why didn’t you call me? We could have met there!’ Scott threw his hands into the air in annoyance. 

Stacey saw several of the wolves flinch as smelt his frustration but she didn’t. Stacey just raised her eyebrow at him disdainfully. She knew exactly how it would all pan out. Exactly the same as the others had. A dead end. The scent was always too faint for them to track.

‘Is the previous guy still in the morgue?’ Scott asked, annoyance leaking out into his voice.

Stacey nodded, keeping her anger at bay. She’d checked as soon as she’d smelt his scent, just like she had with all the other victims.

‘You got a rough time of death?’

Stacey sighed, wondering if Scott would realise she hadn’t called him about this as soon as she’d found out. ‘About sixteen hours ago.’

Scott frowned but not at her. ‘Early hours, no one was watching Stiles’ house.’

Stacey blinked, noticing Corey and Mason’s grimaces. ‘What? What’s he got to do with this?’

‘His girlfriend could be the killer. She doesn’t have a scent and is controlling Stiles somehow.’

Stacey stared at him open mouthed unable to form a response.

He sighed. ‘Okay, we go there now.’

‘Are you serious?’ Stacey demanded causing Scott to glare at her. ‘Didn’t Isaac say she had a faint scent? Not the scent of recently dead people?’

‘She has a scent that none of us be able to track easily, same as the killer. I’m not ruling out the possibility.’ He stood up and used his Alpha voice. ‘Now let’s go.’ 

‘All of us?’ Stacey asked with a yawn.

‘Yes. All of us. If we find whoever is killing these people, we’ll need the whole pack there.’

Stacey rolled her eyes but stood up. She knew they wouldn’t find the killer, they never did. And it definitely wasn’t this woman, she hadn’t smelt like any of the victims at the picnic. But Scott was using his Alpha voice and beginning to emanate strong angry vibes. ‘Fine. Let’s go then. I’m beat and am back on shift in eight hours.’

Danny was quiet as he set the table and brought their food out. He’d been quiet when he’d cooked the dinner as well. He knew Isaac was concerned, but Isaac’s reaction to Stiles coming back had been troubling him. Danny knew they hadn’t been great friends, but they had been friends, been in the same group of friends anyway. But now Danny was wondering if that was only because Stiles had been in the know about the supernatural. Isaac hadn’t exactly been pleased to hear that Stiles was back. He’d tried to pretend he was, but Danny knew when his boyfriend was lying.

He was driving himself mad thinking about it. He knew he needed to speak to Isaac about it, but that wasn’t all they needed to talk about. Danny realised that now was as good a time as any.

‘Why did you ask Derek to come back?’ 

Isaac froze, fork laden with food half way to his mouth. He blinked and lowered his fork slowly.

‘To help Scott.’ He spoke slowly.

Danny raised an eyebrow in surprise, trying to keep his heat rate steady and his emotions in check. He knew exactly how good Isaac’s senses were and he refused to over react, he would gather the facts first. ‘Does Scott need help?’

His boyfriend grimaced. 

Danny sighed, knowing that he wasn’t hiding his disappointment very well, or the fact that he was feeling fed up with this. ‘What is going on Isaac?’

‘He doesn’t realise it but he does.’

Danny felt his heart drop. Isaac would do anything to help Scott, and Danny was beginning to realise that he always would. Scott didn’t know it, but he was a major part of their relationship and Danny hated it. Scott was the reason they had broken up the first time and they hadn’t even been living here.

‘What does he need help with?’ He forced himself to be calm.

Isaac sighed and rubbed his eyes. ‘The pack. He keeps screwing up, I don’t know how it’s worked out for so long.’

Danny took a breath. He wasn’t pack, had no desire to be, he’d seen how well this pack had worked out for Jackson and Lydia and was quite happy on the outskirts. But now it was, yet again, affecting his relationship with Isaac. 

‘What’s he done?’ He needed to hear this, he needed to know. This could affect everything.

Isaac almost groaned and suddenly looked tired and old. Danny instantly felt sympathy for whatever Isaac was going through, but it didn’t dull his hurt that Isaac had kept this from him. ‘He hasn’t learnt from any of Derek’s mistakes, he’s made exactly the same ones and doesn’t see anything wrong it with while condemning Derek for it. He kicked Stiles out the pack and made Derek do it. That was years ago but he still does stupid shit and blames others for the consequences.’

Danny inhaled sharply. ‘He kicked Stiles out of the pack?! He got Derek to kick Stiles out of the pack?!’

Isaac nodded grimly, his eyes sad and full of pain. As much as Danny hated seeing his boyfriend sad and in pain, he needed to know.

‘Is that why Stiles left?’ His boyfriend nodded. ‘Is that why Lydia left?’ Isaac shrugged and Danny remembered that he hadn’t been around for that. ‘How do you know this?’

‘Derek.’ 

That made sense. If Scott had made Derek kick Stiles out, then he’d definitely been around for it. ‘Is that why you weren’t happy that Stiles had come back?’

Isaac winced. ‘Not for that reason.’ He huffed. ‘Scott should never have kicked Stiles out, or forced Derek to do it. Derek wasn’t in a good place and that made it worse. I was worried about Derek, still am, that’s why I wasn’t pleased to hear that Stiles was back.’

Danny looked at him, slowly processing everything Isaac had said. He wasn’t sure if Isaac had meant to tell him that much or not, but a lot of it, he would have to think on later. ‘Wait, you said Scott forced Derek to kick Stiles out. How did he force him?’

Isaac winced. ‘You’re too bloody perceptive.’ He sighed. ‘He found out something about Derek and used it to his advantage, played on his insecurities until Derek agreed.’

Danny stared at him in disgust. ‘And you’re trying to help him?’

‘It’s not like that Danny.’

‘Then what is it like? From the sounds of it, Scott blackmailed Derek into doing something he didn’t want to do, kicked his best friend to the curb and keeps screwing up, not learning from his and others mistakes. And you’ve brought back the person he blackmailed to try and help him?!’

Isaac whimpered as he stared at his dinner.

Danny winced and took a few deep calming breaths. He knew that Isaac didn’t do well with shouting and anger, after his childhood, no one could blame him. But once again, Isaac was putting Scott first, above anyone else, and Danny couldn’t understand why.

‘Is Scott your alpha?’ Isaac stared at him and blinked. Danny knew that Isaac could hear the pain in his voice. He knew that Isaac needed an Alpha, but so far, he hadn’t made any decision. Danny often wondered if it was because of him, Isaac knew his feelings regarding Scott. But now he wondered if Scott was his Alpha and he just hadn’t wanted to tell Danny that. ‘Is that why you keep putting him first?’

Isaac opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything.

Danny stared at his half-eaten dinner and felt sick. ‘I need some fresh air.’

‘What about your dinner?’

‘I’m not hungry.’ He couldn’t stay here, in the same room as Isaac. He needed space and time to think. On his own, without Isaac looking at him with his sad eyes that made Danny want to give him the world.

Isaac nodded quietly and looked at hesitantly. ‘Do you want some company?’

Danny shook his head, unable to say anything past the lump in his throat and left.

‘I don’t understand how the trail can just vanish.’ David muttered. Mason tried not to sigh, knowing that Scott wouldn’t take it well. David could do no wrong at the moment. He was a werewolf, one whose half-sister was an emissary. Scott had bitten him a couple years ago unaware of this, at least according to what he’d told everyone, and was still trying to convince Natalie to join his pack ever since Deaton had suggested it. Mason knew that Scott was getting close, he actually quite liked Natalie, whereas David had a knack for stating the obvious, but not in a good way.

Stacey glowered at him, her teeth elongating threateningly. She looked close to loosing control but he knew she had much better control than that, no matter how tired she was. Stacey didn’t hide the fact that she didn’t have much patience for David.

‘It was an old scent.’ Mason offered, trying to boost moral even though he knew it was hopeless. It didn’t stop him from trying though. He felt Corey slip a hand into his and wished they were back at home with their daughter. Instead, they had yet again called in a favour with his brother to babysit.

‘Whatever, I’m going home.’ Stacey yawned. ‘I’m beat and working in-’ She checked her watch and huffed. ‘Five hours now. Great.’

Mason knew exactly how she felt, although he was desperate to go home for a completely different reason. He wanted to hug his daughter and reassure himself that his family was fine while there was a killer running around the town he tried to protect. It worried him, that if he couldn’t protect complete strangers, how could he protect his innocent young daughter? He wanted her to have a normal, well as normal as possible, childhood, to grow up playing and laughing and not having much of a care in the world.

Scott glared at the ground as if it had betrayed him. 

It was obvious to Mason that Scott didn’t understand it either but it was an old and dull scent and had been trampled by numerous police officers. According to Stacey, even the scents on the bodies had been dull and hard to isolate. She’d snuck Malia into the morgue to help her out with the scent on several of the bodies, but even Malia, their best tracker, couldn’t tell them anything more other than Stacey was right and the scent was the same as the previous victim before them.

‘I think we need to start doing patrols.’ Scott declared and Mason shared a relieved look with Corey.

‘Are you kidding me?’ Stacey demanded, her eyes flashing golden. ‘When? When do we have time to fit in patrols?’

‘We only need to do them at night.’ Mason quickly interrupted. He’d been hinting at patrols for a while now. It was about time for Scott to implement them. Scott wasn’t very good at figuring out the plans, but Mason had figured out how to circumvent that and make it seem that Scott had come up with the plan, planting the ideas in his head, instead of Scott doing his own foolhardy plan where one of them got hurt. Scott was none the wiser, they had it down to a fine art. ‘Every single victim was attacked sometime during the night.’

Liam glowered but didn’t say anything. He looked fed up but Mason knew it was because of all the inaction. Liam liked action, and so far following a dead trail after the fact was not action. Especially a dead trail that he couldn’t even smell. He understood his best friends’ annoyance. He wondered if he could talk Scott into letting Liam ask Natalie for advice, without Scott taking it upon himself to do it. While her pack was small and peaceful, they had been established for a long time.

Scott sighed and rolled his eyes, not that Mason had any idea why he seemed so put upon. ‘Alright, everyone go home. Get some rest. I’ll figure out the patrols and we’ll meet again tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow? But there’s always at least a week between the deaths, usually a bit longer!’ Stacey protested, throwing her hands into the air. 

Mason felt exactly where she was coming from. Her job was full on, more so than the rest of them, and then to add in patrols around her shifts? She would barely have enough time to sleep. But Mason knew what battles to fight and when, if he suggested to Scott to leave Stacey out of patrols, Scott would accuse him of favouritism or some such shit. At least he had Corey, so they could take their patrols in turn, although it would mean seeing less of his husband. And if Stacey was allowed to be exempt from patrols due to her job, then surely he and Corey should be exempt for having a young toddler at home to look after. Although then that would mean only eight of them patrolling the whole of Beacon Hills until they could find out what this thing was and how to get rid of it. And who knows who else would try to find reasons not to do patrols. It was best that they all took their turns, no matter how much none of them wanted to.

Scott groaned, looking resigned. ‘We’re all tired, we’ll discuss it tomorrow. For now, just go home.’


	4. Chapter 4

‘Any luck?’ Derek heard Isaac’s voice. He frowned and looked up from the book he was currently reading and blinked several times. He’d been so engrossed, he hadn’t heard Isaac approach or even enter his house. But that wasn’t what was worrying him. He knew and trusted Isaac, so his scent or heartbeat wouldn’t have stuck out as odd but Isaac had sounded timid and was stood looking unsure in the middle of Derek’s apartment.

It had been a long time since Isaac had been timid, especially with him. Isaac had seen him at rock bottom, had helped pull him out and stopped him from turning into a feral omega, it was hard to be timid around someone when you’d seen them so low. And even before that, when Isaac had been coming to terms with being a werewolf, he’d been more of an arsehole than a lost puppy. Except around Scott, unfortunately he still acted like a lost puppy around Scott. 

Stiles had called him a douchebag and while Derek had never admitted it, it was a good description of him back then. Isaac had been a douchebag and especially towards Stiles. Derek had wondered if Isaac’s wolf had picked up on his feelings towards Stiles and in his adolescence had felt left out and acted jealous. Especially with how close Scott and Stiles had been, there was no doubt that Isaac had been jealous about that and had tried to divide them and push Stiles away. Stiles had seen it, Scott, not being the brightest and on a high from becoming popular, still had no clue. 

‘Isaac?’ He asked.

Isaac tried to smile but it came out broken. The last time Derek had seen him so upset was when he and Danny had broken up. It took a lot for Isaac to allow anyone to get close to him and he could count the number of people Isaac was close to on one hand. Those were the only people that could ever upset him and no one had heard anything from Chris for eight years. He doubted it could have been Melissa and didn’t remember doing anything himself that could have upset him. Which left one person.

‘What’s wrong?’ Derek immediately put the book he was reading down and approached his friend. As he approached, he could see that Isaac had been crying and could smell the tell-tale saltiness that indicated tears. He must have only just stopped if he could still see traces of it.

Isaac shrugged. ‘Danny and I had a fight.’

Derek raised an eyebrow and flicked his eyes to the clock. ‘At six in the morning?’

Isaac shook his head. ‘Last night at dinner. He went for a walk to clear his head and didn’t come home.’

‘Is he ok?’ Derek asked alarmed, his mind instantly coming up with scenarios that worst case involved a trip to the morgue, best case involved a trip to the hospital. He didn’t know how Isaac was so calm, unless he was in shock. Which meant the former was more likely, especially if his last words were shouted in anger.

Isaac nodded and Derek felt the relief flow through him. He had to stop expecting the worst-case scenario when loved ones were involved, but his past had taught him that nothing good ever happened to him or those he cared about. ‘I followed his scent to one of his friend’s houses. He was there, in the spare room.’

Derek instantly stilled. He knew how up and down their relationship was. Knew the toll it took on Isaac, but didn’t know the cause of it. He didn’t know if Isaac just couldn’t talk about it because he was upset or angry or if he was embarrassed but he refused to speak to any of them about it. Every time he saw the two men together, it always astounded him that they’d broken up so many times, they always appeared so perfect for one another, but as Derek well knew, appearances were deceiving.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

Isaac shook his head. No surprises there.

‘Want to crash here?’

Isaac shook his head again.

‘Want to help me research?’

He nodded.

‘Come on.’ Derek slowly reached out, knowing when in this state, Isaac didn’t do well with quick motions but needed contact with someone he trusted to feel grounded. He gently wrapped his fingers around his wrist, leading him through to the kitchen to put the coffee on. 

They were quiet as they made the coffee’s, Derek deliberately crowding him and brushing past him to give him the needed contact as they waited for the percolator to finish. Derek gave him the silence, allowing him time to get his thoughts and emotions in order. The silence was calm and companionable, and he could see the tension begin to leak out of Isaac’s posture. It was only with their coffees in hand, once they were back in the lounge, that Isaac spoke.

‘Any ideas?’

Derek sighed and shook his head, willingly agreeing to the change in subject, his track record with relationships was worse than Isaac’s and he knew there was nothing he could say or do to make it better. ‘Nothing. Some magical people can mask their own scent, but I haven’t found anything about being able to mask another’s. Witches seem the most likely, but she’d have to be incredibly powerful to cast a spell to control Stiles, and she’d have to have some ultimate plan that would end in his death.’

‘So, typical Stiles then?’

Derek chuckled, but even to him, it sounded broken. Stiles had always been a magnet to trouble, but then, he’d always had a pack to fall back on. Scott had put an end to that.

Isaac frowned. ‘Do you think she could be that powerful?’

Derek nodded. ‘That’s another reason why some magical creatures mask their scent, it masks their abilities and power as well. It’s a defence to aid survival.’

‘But then why would she mask Stiles as well?’

‘Exactly. Everything I find, just leaves me with more questions. Like if she was controlling Stiles, why did she allow him to come back here?’

‘Because his father was in the hospital.’ Isaac automatically responded. ‘Everyone knows how close they are, it would have been weird if he hadn’t.’

Derek eyed him. ‘Would it? He hasn’t been back home in nine years. You said Scott didn’t even think he’d come back.’

Isaac opened his mouth to reply, but then deflated. ‘Oh.’

‘Exactly. Unless it fit in with her plans or was part of her plan from the beginning. Also, if she has some ultimate plan that will kill him, he needs to have some sort of power for it to be beneficial to her. Or they could be using herbs over their pulse points to hide their scents but Stiles would have to be using them willingly.’

‘That doesn’t make sense, Stiles is human and why would he want to hide his scent from us?’

Derek shrugged. ‘I don’t know, I’ve got more questions than answers.’

‘Shit.’ Isaac huffed. ‘So we have nothing.’

Derek nodded in agreement. ‘We need more information.’ He sighed and wrinkled his nose in distaste. ‘Scott found anything?’

Isaac shook his head. ‘He’s got Corey following her around everywhere but they haven’t found anything yet.’

Derek hesitated. ‘Would he tell you if he did?’

Isaac winced and then shrugged. ‘I think so, but honestly, I don’t know.’

Derek nodded. ‘Have we found out her name yet? If Corey’s following her, Scott will know it. At least then I can ask around.’

Isaac’s face fell. ‘Scott didn’t mention a name.’ He frowned. ‘The Sheriff called her something though, at the picnic. Eve?’

Derek shrugged, instantly looking sheepish. ‘I, err, stopped listening to them.’

He hadn’t wanted to hear anymore. It was hard enough controlling himself knowing and seeing that Stiles was with someone, but he certainly didn’t want to hear them acting all couple-y. He wasn’t sure his wolf could take it.

‘You know you’re going to have to tell me now?’ Stiles asked from the doorway making his dad flinch. If his dad thought that he could sneak this past him by getting up early to go over case files while he was still asleep, he was completely and utterly wrong. Mainly because Stiles had heard him hit the wheelchair off the kitchen door fifteen minutes ago and when he hadn’t heard his dad crash into anything else, had gotten worried. Noah may be getting around in the wheelchair like a pro but that didn’t mean that he didn’t have trouble manoeuvring in tight spaces, like doorways and the kitchen.

Noah looked back at Stiles, an open police folder that he quickly shut in front of him on the kitchen table, his expression guilty while Stiles stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest as he glared at him sternly.

‘Nuh uh. Stiles this is police business.’ Noah told his son sternly.

Stiles snorted loudly. ‘And you’re on medical leave. So unless you tell me, those files are going ‘pouff’ in the next thirty seconds.’

Stiles flung his hand up, his fingers flying outward from his closed fist to emphasise his point.

‘Stiles.’ His dad groaned.

‘Twenty-five seconds.’ Stiles counted down as Ava entered the room, pushing Stiles in ahead of her, giving his side a quick reassuring squeeze and his back a cuddle before she set about making the coffee without interrupting their standoff. He sat opposite his dad, as if it were a stalemate they had going, which in a way, it was.

‘Urgh.’ Noah finally relented, glaring angrily at the stack of papers in front of him as if they had betrayed him. ‘Fine. There’s been a string of deaths recently.’

‘Supernatural or human?’ Ava asked casually as she settled down with them. The coffee machine happily spluttering away behind her.

Noah sighed. ‘I think supernatural, and Parrish agrees but Scott doesn’t recognise the scent and is having trouble tracking it down.’

Stiles stilled at the mention of his former best friend but quickly shook it off, remembering what his dad had already said about this case. It had to be bugging him if he couldn’t leave it alone while trying to hide it from Stiles. ‘I thought you said he didn’t think it was supernatural?’

‘He didn’t at first, but then we found out he was still looking into it.’ Noah’s jaw had tensed, Stiles didn’t need to be his son to tell he was pissed off about it. But he did wonder if new information came to light and Scott just hadn’t bothered to inform his dad or if he’d deliberately lied to keep his dad out of it. He couldn’t really understand either option, surely having the Sheriff in the know would make things a lot easier.

‘How?’ Stiles frowned, wondering how Scott was still looking into things without the Sheriff’s help. ‘Does he have a contact at the station?’

Noah pursed his lips unhappily. ‘Not exactly, the coroner is a werewolf in his pack.’

Stiles nodded absently, desperately wanting to know more about this coroner but not at the same time. At least it meant that his dad could trust all of his deputies. ‘Why didn’t he tell you it was supernatural then?’

Noah huffed and leant back in his chair. ‘I think he was trying to protect me.’

‘So, we don’t think it was a werewolf then?’ 

Noah shook his head. ‘No, the victims have all been mauled but none of them look to be a werewolf attack. And the coroner, Stacey, said the perpetrator didn’t smell like a werewolf.’

Ava frowned and spoke slowly as she figured out what they weren’t saying. ‘Not a werewolf attack but still an animal attack?’

Noah sighed and nodded. ‘Is there any way I can get you two to ignore this and leave it to us and the pack?’

Stiles and Ava both snorted. ‘Not a chance in hell.’

‘And anyway.’ Ava said casually, linking one of her hands with his. ‘This is what we do. What we get paid a lot of money to do.’

And Stiles was very proud to admit that they were very good at their job.

‘I suppose.’ Noah pushed the top case file over to Ava. ‘The victims have all been mauled but only certain parts of them. Stacey said she couldn’t smell much of anything apart from the victim, but they certainly didn’t maul themselves.’

‘Certain parts?’

Noah nodded. ‘The neck, thighs and wrists.’

Stiles grimaced.

Ava took one look at the first picture of the victim’s body and rolled her eyes. ‘Vampires.’

‘What?’ Noah asked taken aback.

‘You’ve got a coven of vampires.’ Ava said placing the photo back in the file and handing it back to the Sheriff. ‘Hence the mauled appearance. They were all feeding from the victim at the same time. The neck, wrist and thighs have the biggest and easiest veins and arteries to access.’

Noah gaped at her. ‘Vampires?’

‘Umhmm. A coven of them.’

He cleared his throat uneasily. ‘How many would you say?’

She shrugged. ‘At least five, but probably around ten or so.’

‘Right.’ Noah said faintly and look a little more pale than he had that morning. ‘Ten vampires.’

‘You want us to deal with it?’ Ava asked casually. 

Stiles wrinkled his nose. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d dealt with vampires and it was doubtful it would be the last. Not all vampires killed humans to feed, the old vampires could easily feed from humans happily without the human even being aware of it, just taking small amounts of blood from each person they touched. They didn’t even break the skin and their victims felt no pain or light-headedness. They were sociable and friendly, they had to be in order to get the required amount of blood to keep them alive, but those types of vampires were rare.

‘No!’ Noah almost shouted, his panic and fear obvious.

Stiles snorted. ‘There’s no way you’re dealing with them.’

Noah sighed. ‘I don’t want you guys involved and I know I can’t. I’ll tell Scott and let the pack deal with them.’

Stiles looked completely unimpressed. ‘Because they’ve been doing such a stellar job so far.’

‘Hey Sheriff.’ Scott said sounding cheerful but his scent told Malia another story, there was a frown on his face as he answered his phone. She knew there was a lot of bad blood between them and could understand both views, but she didn’t understand this antagonism Scott had begun showing towards the Sheriff in the last few years.

‘Hey Scott, how you doing?’ Malia was still impressed at how polite the Sheriff could act when they all smelt his anger and hatred towards Scott. She understood even though she didn’t like it, the Sheriff was Stiles’ father, but she didn’t understand how he couldn’t see that they had done what was best for Stiles. Scott had made her promise not to confront him over it and she knew why, her control wasn’t always the best when she was upset and this upset her. Stiles was her anchor and she loved and missed him. She didn’t understand how the Sheriff couldn’t see that Scott had set his son free, no matter how much she hated it. If it had been up to her, she never would have let Stiles leave. She’d have begged and pleaded and done whatever it took to get him to stay. She didn’t give a toss about that stupid saying “if you love something, set it free”, it was utter rubbish and just caused you pain.

‘Yeah, I’m good. I heard there was another death.’

Malia eyed Scott wondering if he was baiting the man but his scent wasn’t malicious or smug. If anything, it was bored and resigned.

She heard the Sheriff sigh down the phone. ‘Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. Jordan reached out to a few contacts of his. We’re dealing with vampires. From the states of the victims, it looks like a coven of about ten.’

Scott snorted down the phone, his frown completely disappearing in his amusement. ‘Vampires? Come on Sheriff, they’re not a thing.’

The Sheriff paused a moment before speaking again. ‘Yes Scott, they are a thing. They exist and they are what are killing these people. Now are your pack going to handle it or do I need to call in someone else to do it?’

Scott rolled his eyes and practically glowered down the phone, his scent suddenly angry. ‘This is my territory Sheriff. I’ll handle it.’ He snarled out before hanging up.

‘What was that about?’ Malia asked, looking at Scott worriedly. She had heard everything and didn’t understand why Scott was so angry. It could have been the Sheriffs ultimatum, insinuating that Scott was doing a good enough job, although Malia did wonder how the sheriff knew it wasn’t supernatural - not Scott’s best moment that, lying to the Sheriff, but Malia hadn’t been aware that the Sheriff knew that. 

If anyone had a right to be angry, it was Noah Stilinski, since he’d been in the know about supernatural, he’d closed more cases than ever before and Beacon Hills had been a lot safer since then. But even disregarding that, before Stiles left and before Scott had refused to listen to the Sheriff’s nonsense about Stiles being missing, they’d been allowed whatever information they wanted and access to crime scenes. The Sheriff would only allow Stacey access to crime scenes now, and occasionally Liam, but never Scott. Scott had been sure that Stiles was safe and had just gotten out but even Malia would have at least humoured the Sheriff.

She’d tried contacting Stiles herself then, ignoring Scott’s mandate to leave him alone and let him live his life. She’d never heard back until eventually his number disconnected. Lydia had already told Scott to go to hell, but, just like the Sheriff, she’d been looking for Stiles too, and that had thrown Malia. Stiles worshipped Lydia, she couldn’t understand why Stiles would leave her as well. It made her doubt, but Scott was so sure, so positive that Stiles had wanted a clean slate, nothing supernatural or even anyone who had been affiliated with the supernatural, including Lydia and his dad. Scott loved Stiles, knew him better, knew him longer and hadn’t been lying. 

It had put her on edge when the Sheriff had disappeared for several months, Malia had almost been out of her mind. She contacted Lydia then, surprised when Lydia replied and had been told everything was fine. That Stiles was fine and that the sheriff was visiting him. Malia had never missed Stiles as much as did in that second, seeing him at the hospital only came a close second when he had virtually blanked them. She wasn’t sure why she had hidden how much it hurt from Scott, but she knew that even though it had hurt Scott as well, he wouldn’t have liked it hurting her. 

Scott huffed. ‘The Sheriff thinks we have vampires and they’re the ones doing these killings.’

‘Vampires?’ Malia nodded slowly as she thought about the kills. Stacey had already told her that the mauling’s had been over major arteries explaining the severe blood loss. And there had only been small amounts of blood spatters where the bodies had been found. ‘I could get behind that.’

‘It’s not vampires.’ Scott snarled, his phone creaked in his hand and she watched as he struggled to release his grip on it.

‘It’s not?’ Malia asked hesitantly. Did he know something he was keeping from the pack? How was he so sure? Vampires would explain a lot.

Scott gave her an exasperated but fond look before he gave her a quick kiss. ‘Of course it’s not. How the hell would the Sheriff come to the conclusion that it was vampires?’

Malia blinked. She had no reason to doubt the Sheriff. He had never lied to them, and this was too important, to them as well as him. ‘Because Parrish reached out to his contacts?’

Scott scoffed. ‘What contacts? This is all that Ava woman, the one controlling Stiles. She’s somehow gotten to Parrish and the Sheriff.’

‘O-okay.’ Malia shrugged feigning disinterest. Ava wasn’t the only one who could have figured out what was killing these people. And they still didn’t know what supernatural creature she was or how involved she might be in the supernatural world. ‘Hey, can you make me a toasted sandwich? You always make them better than me.’

Scott grinned happily and headed to the kitchen. Once he was gone she got out her phone to text Derek. Stiles had always been their best researcher, it made more sense to her that Stiles had figured it out and told his dad. And she wouldn’t put it past him to have made a copy of the Argent’s bestiary before he left. Just because he’d wanted a life away from the supernatural wouldn’t guarantee him one, Stiles of all people would have known that.

_Are vampires real?_

She thought about the placings of the wounds. All over major arteries. If vampires were real, it certainly made sense. It wasn’t long before her phone alerted her to a new message. 

_Yes. Why?_

She glanced at the doorway, making sure Scott was still occupied.

_We have a problem._

‘What is it Malia?’ Derek asked as soon as she entered his apartment. It wasn’t hostile, it was just Derek. He’d never been hostile to her, not before he’d found out she was his cousin, and not now, even when they hadn’t seen each other for over eight years. He was hostile to Scott, she didn’t know what had happened between them but knew that something had, Derek used to respect and support Scott. But he’d upped and left a couple weeks after Stiles had. She’d been the only one he’d said goodbye to. Of course, he could have said goodbye to Peter, but she doubted it and had never asked.

Isaac was already there which didn’t surprise her in the slightest. Isaac was Derek’s first beta and she’d guessed the two were close. Derek had returned under the guise of visiting Isaac, but that wasn’t reason enough to rent an apartment, not when Isaac was living with his boyfriend and had a spare room. But what they did was their business, she wasn’t going to push on it, not unless it affected the pack, and she couldn’t see how it would. Isaac had made it clear he was thinking of joining while Derek had done the opposite. They all knew he had a pack somewhere, not that he ever opened up about them and with Scott’s attitude towards Derek, Malia couldn’t blame him.

‘I think the recent killings are a coven of vampires.’ Malia dove straight in. She’d never understood the point of small talk. ‘Ten of them.’

Derek blinked and put his book down. She definitely had his attention now.

‘Ten vampires? That’s specific.’ Derek frowned at her.

‘Killings? How many?’ Isaac asked shocked.

Malia winced. Scott hadn’t wanted them to know. Not even Isaac, guessing and probably correctly, that he’d tell Derek. Scott didn’t want them insinuating that he wasn’t protecting Beacon Hills well enough. Especially as it used to be Hale territory. ‘There’s been mauling’s in the last few months. Seven. One every week to ten days.’

‘Mauling’s doesn’t sound like vampires.’ Derek said giving her his full attention.

‘The victims have been mauled around their necks, thighs and wrists and have a severe lack of blood but no blood where they’ve been found. The police thought the bodies had been moved.’

Derek frowned. ‘Does the Sheriff know it’s supernatural?’

Malia winced again. While he hadn’t sounded accusatory, his scent held a faint bitterness. ‘Scott wanted to keep the Sheriff out of it. But he called Scott earlier saying it was vampires, only Scott dismissed him.’

Derek’s eyebrows almost flew off his head.

‘How would the Sheriff know its vampires?’ Isaac asked, his face showing his confusion. 

Malia felt herself relax, Isaac clearly felt at home here and it was rubbing off on her. It was probably what made her look at Isaac as if he was stupid. ‘Stiles is back home.’

‘Of course.’ Derek muttered, a scowl covering his face. ‘I take it every killing has happened at night in the dark?’

Malia nodded.

‘Any scents on the victims?’

‘The previous victims, but very faint.’

‘Makes sense, the previous victim’s blood would still be in the vampires.’ Derek nodded. ‘But vampires are not easy to kill, an entire coven even harder. We need to hit them in the daylight.’

Malia winced. It was beginning to feel as if that was all she was doing around these two. ‘Yeah, about that.’

Derek raised an eyebrow at her.

‘Scott doesn’t want you involved.’

‘Really.’ Derek deadpanned.

Isaac huffed. ‘Why is Scott leaving everyone out of the loop and refusing to listen?’

Malia shrugged. ‘I think he feels guilty with the Sheriff for everything that happened with Stiles.’ Both Isaac and Derek stared at her. ‘What? We all know that Scott could have handled Stiles leaving better than he did.’

Derek tensed. ‘Scott kicked Stiles out.’

‘Yeah because Stiles wanted to go.’ Malia reminded him.

Isaac burst out laughing. She had no idea what he found so amusing, there was nothing she found amusing about Stiles wanting to leave them. ‘Yeah right.’

Malia frowned and stopped herself from snarling at him, she wasn’t the girl who struggled for control anymore. ‘Yeah, he did.’

Isaac stared at her as if she was the one who had lost her mind but she gave that accolade to Stiles. ‘You’re serious? There’s no way Stiles would want to leave.’

‘He did.’ Malia insisted, feeling the same stab of pain she’d felt when Scott had first told her. ‘Scott wasn’t lying when he said that Stiles wanted out.’

‘No, he wasn’t.’ Derek said quietly, looking away from them, his fist clenching.

Malia frowned, she’d thought that as Derek had been the one to give Stiles the news, that he had agreed with Scott. She had never understood why Derek had given Stiles the news instead of Scott, but it was looking as if she didn’t know everything about the situation. Looking at Derek’s tense body language, he was certainly upset about the entire ordeal. Which was not like Derek at all. Why would he be upset about Stiles wanting out? He’d never shown much consideration for Stiles, even with all the times he had saved Stiles life, but she remembered Stiles telling her numerous times how Derek had continuously threatened him and pinned him against walls.

Isaac looked completely unconvinced. ‘There is no way that Stiles would want to leave. He gave everything to Scott and the pack. His entire world revolved around the pack, he was tortured for the pack and didn’t give anything up, possessed and was still wholeheartedly in the pack. Stiles would never want to leave the pack.’

‘Scott wasn’t lying.’ Malia snarled this time. She’d felt the same, but Scott had convinced her, and she didn’t see the point in rehashing this and bringing it all up again. What was done was done. Stiles wanted out and away from the supernatural, Scott had given him that.

Derek suddenly looked pained. ‘But did he ask Stiles? Did he ask Stiles if he wanted to leave?’

Malia opened her mouth to answer, positive that Scott would have, but then the words repeated themselves in her head and her face fell and she closed it again. The thought hit her worse than anything else had. Had Scott asked Stiles? She shook her head, trying to clear it, Of course, Scott would have, no way would Scott have made such an important decision without being positive. And he had been positive. But Scott had done the same once before.

‘What? Scott wouldn’t just make the decision on Stiles’ behalf.’ Isaac denied. ‘Scott would have had to believe it.’ The other two looked at him pointedly. Isaac shook his head. ‘But you said Scott wasn’t lying when he said Stiles wanted out the pack. He believed it.’

‘So, someone must have told him that Stiles wanted out.’ Derek frowned.

Malia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. ‘And Scott believed this person over Stiles. Again.’

She knew they could all hear the pain in her voice. She couldn’t believe that Scott had done it again. She hadn’t known all the details at the time when he’d first done it, but she did now. Only she didn’t know all the details of why he had done it a second time.

‘What do you mean “again”?’ Derek snarled, fury leaking out of his every orifice. Even Isaac looked angry.

Malia struggled to swallow and took a shaky breath. There was a lot more to this than she knew, and Derek’s anger and hurt were included in that. ‘Theo and the Dread Doctors.’

‘Isn’t Theo pack?’ Isaac frowned.

‘What the hell is a Dread Doctor?’

Malia grimaced. ‘Neither of you heard about that huh?’ While she was surprised, she also wasn’t unsurprised, it wasn’t a time that anyone like to talk about. 

‘What happened?’ Derek growled.

Malia huffed. It was around that time that Stiles had broken up with her and while it had hurt, she hadn’t been heartbroken over it. Like Stiles, she had come to the conclusion that they were better as friends rather than lovers. ‘Long story short. Theo transferred back senior year and wanted Scott’s pack for his own and Scott’s power, he was working with these Dread Doctors who experimented on Chimera’s and sent Donovan, another one of the Dread Doctors experiments, after Stiles. Stiles killed him in self-defence but Theo told Scott it was murder and Scott believed him, not Stiles.’

Derek stared at her shocked. ‘Didn’t Stiles defend himself? Tell Scott the truth?’

‘Of course he did.’ Malia frowned.

‘And Scott didn’t believe him?’ Isaac almost whispered, looking as if his whole world had just disintegrated around him.

Malia squirmed, uncomfortable. ‘No. Theo almost destroyed the pack, had everyone doubting everyone else. Scott didn’t think he had a pack left.’

‘And Scott forgave that? He forgave Theo?’ Derek asked his voice harsh. ‘Allowed him into the pack?’

Malia nodded. It wasn’t something that Malia had agreed with, especially after she’d learnt what he had done to Stiles, but it was too late by then. She’d never fully trusted Theo since, not even to have her back in battle, no matter how much he proved himself to everyone else. ‘At first he was just an ally, but he proved himself and became pack. Scott had already learnt the truth about Stiles. Stiles forgave him but they were never the same again.’

‘So who lied to Scott this time?’ Isaac asked quietly, deliberately changing the subject away from Scott and who he chose to forgive.

Derek’s eyes glowed blue. It still surprised her that Derek wasn’t an alpha, but he seemed happy and content with his life now. Well, when he wasn’t talking about Stiles at any rate, Malia wondered if he regretted how he had treated him and wanted to right that. ‘It could have been anyone. It sounds as if Scott’s already proved he’ll believe a stranger over his best friend.’

Malia winced but didn’t dispute it. Scott had proved that true not once, but now twice.

‘But Scott’s a werewolf, surely he’d hear the lie?’

Derek glared at Isaac. ‘He obviously didn’t hear the lie when Theo told him Stiles was a murderer.’

‘We’re getting off subject here.’ Malia interrupted sensing an imminent brawl. It was also hurting her to stay on this subject, especially if Scott, her boyfriend and the man that she loved, had done what they were now sure he had done. She loved Scott, she really did, and because she loved him, she could also see his bad points as well as his good. Some people said that love was blind, but those people were stupid, she loved Scott despite his faults, she didn’t just ignore them but she accounted for them. That was what being in love was all about, she knew and found a way around his bad points just like he did with hers, it made them a good team. But she couldn’t see a way around this, she needed time by herself to process this and she wasn’t sure how she would feel about either herself or her boyfriend by the end of it. ‘Vampires. How do we kill them?’

Derek glared at her and crossed his arms against his chest. ‘Why the hell should I help Scott when he clearly doesn’t want my help?’

‘Please Derek.’ Malia sighed even though he had a good point.

‘It’s not easy. Especially if it’s a whole coven.’ Derek pursed his lips. She knew he didn’t like this, he’d always been one to act first and think later. ‘Best way is to find their lair and expose them to sunlight. Garlic is a myth and a stake to the heart, while it works with certain types of wood, is extremely difficult unless they’re not defending themselves.’

‘Okay.’ Malia nodded. ‘Thanks Derek.’

She turned to go but Derek called back to her. ‘And Malia? They’re quick. Quicker than werewolves.’


	5. Chapter 5

Isaac was staring at the doorway, praying for it to open and for his boyfriend to walk in. He’d been sitting in the same place, praying for the same thing for an hour and a half. They’d had arguments before, walked out on each other before, broken up before. But Isaac had never felt completely to blame before. But he honestly hadn’t felt as if he’d been putting Scott first, yes he knew that he probably shouldn’t have asked Derek to come back, but it had been a last resort, and it was more for selfish reasons rather than putting Scott first. Which still didn’t make him feel any better. Danny was too good for him, too good to be with him, but Isaac loved Danny and would do anything for him and to stay with him. He knew he was selfish and it didn’t make him feel any better about the entire situation. 

He held his breath when he heard a familiar heartbeat approaching, walking slowly up the house, rummaging for keys, sighing and hesitating before putting them in the lock. He felt his heart stutter that Danny had hesitated, this was their home, both of theirs, they had moved in at the same time so that it would be equally theirs, there should not be any hesitation. And that hesitation had been because of him, because he had made Danny doubt him, his actions had made his boyfriend doubt him.

He stayed where he was when Danny entered. He knew the second that his boyfriend caught sight of him as he stopped still and stared at him. It made his feelings about Danny’s hesitation feel like a cake walk. This was worse, this was so much worse. This was meant to be their time, no more breaking up. They loved each other and only wanted to be with each other, to spend the rest of their lives together, and he’d fucked it up. He doubted that explaining he’d just been selfish would help either. Danny would never do what he’d done to Derek and he thought of Derek as a close friend, well more like family than a friend. 

Danny had once told him that family wasn’t just blood, that you could make your family, that friends could become family. And it had made him realise that he had already done that. Chris had become a father figure to him, Melissa a mother figure, Derek a brother and Danny his partner. He struggled to let others close to him but had found that he hadn’t needed to. They were his family. Even if Chris had disappeared, he was still family to him.

Neither of them said anything. Isaac didn’t know what to say. He knew he’d fucked up, but he had no idea how the hell he could fix it. They’d both thought that coming home to Beacon Hills would help, that maybe it would help them stick, that it would be easier to get through the rough patches here, but there had only ever been one rough patch and it seemed to be even worse here, and it was all Isaac’s fault. But he was sure that if he could fix the pack, if Derek could help him fix the pack then everything would be fine, then Danny could see that everything would be fine, that they would be alright. He’d seen it in other packs. Packs that fell apart always had problems with the Alpha, and this was his original pack. It was a like need seated deep inside of him that he had to help, had to fix, had to do something.

The silence was getting too much for him and Isaac needed to break it. 

‘You came home.’ The break in his voice was obvious and he knew that Danny could hear it. He didn’t want to guilt Danny into anything but last night and today had been one of the worst days of his life, knowing that he had pushed his boyfriend away from their home, away from him.

Danny sighed. ‘Of course I did. I still love you, you don’t stop loving someone overnight.’

A rush of breath flew out of Isaac’s mouth. ‘I’m sorry Danny. I’m so sorry.’

Danny half smiled but he could smell the pain and indecision on him. ‘I know. I know you are.’

‘Scott is screwing up and I know I can help.’ Isaac pleaded, he needed Danny to understand, to see where he was coming from. ‘It’s not just about Scott. It’s the others in his pack. I can’t let him do what he did to Stiles and Derek to anyone else.’

Danny nodded. ‘I know. You always try and help, that’s one of the things I love about you.’ Isaac smiled hopefully, his puppy dog eyes large and innocent. ‘But you always put Scott above everyone else. And that I’m struggling with.’

Isaac opened his mouth, worry written all over his face before he closed it again. He took a deep breath and looked into his boyfriend’s eyes. ‘I know I have done in the past, but I promise you, I swear, I’m not putting him first. It was selfish that I asked Derek to come back, not just for Scott, but for us as well. You come first. I love you.’

‘For us?’ Danny asked dubiously.

Isaac nodded quickly. ‘If Derek can help fix the pack, then it will be easier for us. I’ve seen how bad an unsettled pack can be.’

Danny closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath. He opened them and nodded, his eyes full of unshed tears. ‘Okay.’

Isaac breathed out and stood up, walking over to him hesitantly. He slowly reached out and wrapped his arms around Danny, relieved when he wasn’t pushed away and Danny lent into him. ‘I love you so much.’

‘I love you too.’ 

He tucked his nose into Danny’s neck, unashamed of the tears he felt leaking out of eyes at Danny’s words. His heartbeat hadn’t changed, he was telling the truth. Isaac may have pushed him away, but he hadn’t destroyed Danny’s love for him.

‘Don’t you have any cases that aren’t supernatural to work on?’ Stiles asked his father, exasperated as Noah’s gaze once again found the case file for the mauling’s.

Noah grimaced, looking a little as if Stiles had reprimanded him. ‘They aren’t as interesting.’

Ava snorted. ‘Of course not. Why do think we work them?’

‘Are your cases usually this interesting?’

‘Nah.’ Stiles dismissed feeling a little guilty at his father’s interested look. ‘This is a little tame, they’re usually a lot worse than this by the time we’re called in.’

Noah eyeballed him. ‘Worse?’

Stiles felt himself tense, he told his dad everything, they didn’t have any secrets, but sometimes he fudged the details on just how dangerous some of his cases were, especially if he got hurt. He always told his dad, but he didn’t always tell him the extent of how badly he’d sometimes gotten hurt. Having Ava helped him a lot when he was able to tell his dad in all honesty that he was fine a couple days later, that they both were. ‘I’ve kept you informed on everything!’

Noah chuckled but his shoulders didn’t relax. ‘I know. I just still didn’t think you were in much danger.’

‘I’m not in any danger here.’ Stiles evaded, successfully not wincing but knowing from his dad’s look that he had caught onto his wording. ‘The vampires are clearly laying low and have no idea Ava and I are here.’

Ava nodded. ‘We do have quite a reputation.’

‘Really?’ Noah asked taken aback. Stiles felt a bit put out about that. He’d told his dad they were good at what they did. ‘A good reputation I’m hoping?’

‘Well, people have definitely heard of us!’ Ava grinned wickedly.

Noah groaned and covered his face with his hand.

‘We have a good reputation!’ Stiles exclaimed indignantly, glaring at the pair of them. He’d originally joined the FBI to be part of law enforcement, to help people. While he may not exactly be law enforcement, he was still enforcement and still helped people. Although sometimes calling those he helped ‘people’ was pushing it. Him and Ava helped keep the balance, helped the good side of things. And their reputation was just that, that they were fair and just, and not to be messed with. If their organisation had been around twenty years ago, they’d have been the ones called in to deal with Kate Argent, to deal with Peter when he went feral, the alpha pack, the Nogitsune, the Dread Doctors. While not all their cases were that bad, some were easy, just simple territory disputes that no one wanted any blood shed over. While they were easily handled, they were also the boring ones.

‘Really?’ Noah looked doubtful.

‘Yeah we actually do.’ Ava admitted with a smile. Stiles hoped Ava didn’t tell his father that there was also a fair few out there who were totally shit scared of them. Sometimes they had to be brutal to keep the peace and resolve certain disputes and arguments.

Noah beamed proudly. But now it Stiles’ gaze stuck on the case files.

‘Heard back from Sc- Scott?’ Stiles asked his dad. He still found it hard to say Scott’s name. He knew he should be over it, after all it had been nine years, and he had thought he was. But being back here, it was opening up all those old wounds he’d thought had healed over. It wasn’t like ripping the plaster or bandage off the wound, it felt more like ripping the freshly layered skin off.

Noah scowled. ‘No. He’d said he handle it, but it didn’t sound as if he believed me.’

‘Maybe you should ask someone else in the pack if they’ve sorted the vampire problem?’ Ava suggested diplomatically.

Noah shrugged and absently nodded his head. He looked, not angry, not quite upset, but fed up, disheartened. ‘I suppose I could ask Stacey.’

‘Whose Stacey? The coroner?’ Stiles frowned, keeping a close eye on his dad. 

He could see what Melissa had meant, but this was the first time he’d seen it. And this was while handling a supernatural case. His dad did seem tired, but also resigned. It made Stiles wonder how often Scott had dismissed him. That would be enough to make anyone feel resigned, when they were charged with keeping the peace and safety over an entire town and the one person who you should be able to go help with, just keeps fobbing you off.

‘Yeah the coroner.’

Stiles nodded. ‘That would work.’

Noah sighed and pulled out his phone. It was quiet in the room and Stiles could her the phone connect and start to ring. 

She answered after the fifth ring. _‘Sheriff, aren’t you on medical leave?’_

‘Yeah I am, but I’m afraid this isn’t a social call.’

_‘I’m not surprised that you’re still working.’_ Even Stiles could hear the humour in her voice. At least his dad had an okay relationship with at least one person in Scott’s pack.

‘I was a little worried that I hadn’t heard back from Scott but didn’t want to bug him.’

_‘Heard back from Scott? About what?’_ They could all hear her confusion.

Noah’s voice turned hard and cold. ‘About the vampire problem. The coven that is responsible for all the recent deaths.’

_‘Vampires? Wait, coven? What the hell?’_

Noah sighed and Stiles clenched his hands into fists at how Scott was treating his dad. This wasn’t deserved. Scott may have a problem with him, but there was no reason to take it out on his dad. ‘I knew he didn’t believe me.’

_‘Sheriff, are you telling me these mauling’s are the work of a vampire coven?’_ While there was shock in her voice, there was also belief. Stiles felt a bit of respect for this person even though they’d never met. But she was treating his dad with respect. Respect that was well deserved.

‘Yeah, yeah I am. The entire coven is feeding from the victim at the same time, hence the wounds.’

_‘That’s why all the wounds were over major arteries.’_ The realisation in her voice was obvious. _‘Are you saying Scott knew this?’_

‘Yeah, I told him yesterday. He said he’d handle it.’

_‘Fucking hell. I’ll call you back Sheriff.’_

‘Stacey wait!’ Noah called but she’d already hung up.

He sighed noisily and Stiles internally winced. Yep, he was definitely tired of the supernatural crap. And if that was the reaction he’d been getting, Stiles wasn’t surprised. But at least he’d shown a spark of his old self with Stacey. It was beginning to look as if it was Scott’s fault for his dad being so maudlin over his work. How the hell was he going to break that to Melissa?

‘Is that normal?’ Ava asked incredulously. ‘For Scott to dismiss you like that?’

‘Yeah.’ Noah sighed then seemed to shake himself. ‘But he usually takes on board what I’ve said, he just doesn’t like me getting involved.’

‘He’s even more of an arse than I’d realised.’ Ava told him bluntly her eyes hard and cold belying her anger, but Stiles knew her too well. And he was angry as well. Scott was stepping over the line treating his dad this way.

Noah barked out a laugh. ‘Let’s talk about more pleasant things. Like you two.’

‘What about us?’ Stiles asked defensively suddenly feeling worried. While he was used to the sudden turn about in conversation, he was a pro at it himself, he wasn’t sure he wanted it centred on him and Ava, not with all of his history and bad feelings with Beacon Hills.

‘You two need to get out of the house.’ Noah said bluntly. ‘And stop babysitting me.’

‘We get out the house.’ Ava replied instantly. Stiles loved her for it, they both knew how hard he was finding it being back, and that he was using his dad as an excuse to effectively hide in his room. While Ava was okay with his way for a while, his dad was more of the practical approach. Stiles knew that this had been coming.

‘Yeah, we do the shopping and everything, that gets us out.’ Stiles agreed. He knew his dad was right, but he wasn’t going to let him know that straight away. And he still had no idea of what he could do outside of the house that would ensure he wouldn’t run into any of the pack. Everything he thought of, ran the chance of bumping into someone he didn’t want to.

‘That’s not what I meant. You need to do something enjoyable outside of this house.’

‘Watching movies is enjoyable.’ Ava teased.

‘So’s playing games.’ Stiles grinned.

‘And both of them are inside this house.’ Noah said exasperated. ‘Ava, have you even been to Beacon Hills before?’

‘No.’ Ava said slowly as she thought. ‘Been near here, but never to this town.’

‘Then it’s about time that Stiles showed you around. Preferably in daylight.’

‘Da-ad!’ Stiles groaned.

‘If Melissa were here, she’d agree with me!’ Noah pointed out, immediately making Stiles feel guilty. They seen Melissa a few times, when she’d come over for food, either breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on what shift she was working.

It was nice having her here, felt a little like old times when both her and his dad had visited him and Ava. But he knew his dad was right, Melissa would want him getting out of the house, instead of tiptoeing around, too scared to run into someone he used to call a friend. And last time she’d hinted that it would be nice to go out to a restaurant, not that he’d have much choice when Lydia got to town.

‘You know, there is that new film out that I want to go see.’ Ava grinned at Stiles. He smiled back ruefully knowing they were on the same page.

‘Then go see it!’ Noah practically shouted. ‘But in daylight.’

‘It’s only on in the evenings. No daytime matinees yet.’ Ava said, typing away on her phone.

Noah grumbled.

‘You know we can look after ourselves.’ Stiles told him pointedly. ‘It’ll take a hell of a lot more than vampires to take us down.’

‘Don’t get cocky.’ Noah glared at him.

‘It’s not cocky, it’s fact.’ Ava smiled, still looking down at her phone. ‘I’ve taken out a much larger coven blindfolded once.’

‘Let me guess, it was a bet.’ Stiles said dryly.

‘Nope, a dare.’ Ava grinned, looking up at him. ‘And I’ve just booked us tickets.’

Stiles frowned at his dad. ‘I don’t like leaving you alone in the house.’

‘I’m fine Stiles, I can handle one night on my own.’ Noah said exasperated.

‘That’s not why I’m worried, we haven’t heard if the vampires have been dealt with. What if they attack the house?’ Stiles knew he was reaching, but this was dad, he still worried.

‘Not usually their MO.’ Ava frowned. ‘But then, neither is moving to sunny California.’

Noah rolled his eyes. ‘You think I don’t know that the two of you have this place warded just as safe as your own house?’

Stiles grinned sheepishly. It was true. They’d done the wards, thoroughly securing the house their first night here, it helped them sleep better knowing that nothing could get to them while vulnerable and eased both of their minds while Noah was hurt. Even if Stiles had sent his father charms to place all over the house when he’d been away that protected him. It was just his luck that he hadn’t thought of one for his dad’s car but the one his dad had kept on his person when he’d been hit by that drunk driver had probably saved his life.

Melissa had them too, scattered around her house and disguised as jewellery that she could wear to work. His favourite was one that doubled as a hairband and he knew that Melissa constantly used it. If it wasn’t in her hair then it was on her wrist.

‘Okay we’ll go out to the movies tonight.’

Ava grinned and nudged Stiles in excitement. It may have taken him a long time to be able to go the movies again, but it was something that he loved and he’d worked hard to be able to enjoy it again.

Isaac jumped when someone banged loudly on Derek’s door. He hadn’t even heard them approaching. Derek raised an eyebrow at him and Isaac blinked back at him wondering what he meant, it was Derek’s house. Derek rolled his eyes and Isaac sniffed, then winced. 

Danny. 

He glanced at his watch and realised he should have been home hours ago. He got up and opened the door, wondering how Danny knew he’d be at Derek’s. 

‘Isaac!’ Danny glared at his boyfriend but Isaac could smell the surprise on him. Danny hadn’t been expecting him to be here, or he hadn’t been certain. ‘You will tell me what the hell is going on right now!’

‘Danny! What are you doing here?’ Isaac said wide eyed as Danny pushed past him. He stared at his boyfriend, his boyfriend who was radiating anger and standing in Derek’s front room. He couldn’t catch a break. He knew he was still in the doghouse, but he wanted Danny as safe as possible and Danny had made it clear that he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the supernatural even though he accepted it. His boyfriend may not have voiced any of that, but Isaac had easily picked up on it by his body language and if vampires were around, than he would keep Danny as far away from it as possible.

‘Vampires.’ Derek said, looking at Danny.

Isaac glared at Derek.

Danny blinked at him, mouth gaping open. ‘Wait, what?’

‘Isaac wants you safe, that’s why he hasn’t told you.’ Derek continued easily.

Danny shot his boyfriend a dark look and Isaac shrunk into the seats. ‘The recent murders? They’re the work of vampires?’

Derek nodded. ‘Apparently a coven, ten of them. We’re trying to narrow down their lair.’

Danny raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Isaac. ‘And you decided to keep the hacker out of the loop and not ask his help.’

Derek quickly hid a smile and shrugged in apology to Isaac. ‘He does have a point.’

Isaac blinked in surprise. Danny wanted to help them? He’d never shown much interest in the creatures or monsters that they were fighting, even if he had made it clear that he actually quite liked the fact that Isaac was a werewolf. He had no problem with Isaac shifting or even his supernatural strength, he’d even previously commented on how handy it was and how much he liked it. Isaac watched his boyfriend, completely lost as to what was happening now, why he wanted to help when he’d never shown signs of it before.

‘So, where’s the rest of the pack? Are they out looking?’ Danny frowned when both werewolves froze. ‘What is it?’

Isaac sunk further down into his seat. This was a massive clusterfuck.

‘Scott doesn’t want our help. He didn’t tell us about the vampires.’ Derek answered eventually when it became clear that Isaac wasn’t going to.

Danny thought for a moment. ‘So, who did tell you?’

‘Malia. From the sounds of it, Scott isn’t convinced it’s vampires.’

‘So why do you think it is vampires then?’

‘She thinks Stiles figured it out.’ Isaac said quietly, he’d told him previously that Stiles had been the research guru before he’d left.

Danny nodded. ‘So, what are we looking for? How are you trying to find them?’

‘It’s best to find their lair and kill them in daylight.’ Derek explained. ‘We’re having trouble narrowing it down.’

‘Okay, let me get my laptop and hack into the local real estate agents, see what’s moved hands before the murders started.’

‘That…’ Derek looked dumb struck. ‘That would be a great help actually.’

Isaac smiled proudly. He may want Danny safe, but this was what his boyfriend did, and he was damn good at it.

‘What are you doing here?’ Scott demanded loudly.

Derek glared at him as his heart sank, but he made sure to keep his emotions hidden. It wouldn’t do well for the resident alpha to realise just what Derek thought of him. Although, like Scott, he did wonder what Scott and his pack were doing here. Isaac had mentioned that Scott now had occasional pack nights, interesting that he had shot the suggestion down when it was Stiles suggesting it so that they could bond, and now that Stiles was gone, Scott had instigated them. He wondered how Stiles would take that news. ‘Keep your voice down.’

‘Don’t tell me what to do.’ Scott snarled, his eyes flashing red.

‘We think the vampire lair is near here.’ Isaac interrupted quickly in what sounded like an attempt to keep the peace. ‘We’re doing recon, trying to narrow it down.’

Scott scoffed. ‘Don’t tell me you guys believe that crap about vampires. Vampires aren’t real.’

‘Yes, they are.’ Derek told him tersely wondering at the stupidity of the True Alpha. It hurt that Deaton had seriously chosen this buffoon over him. Without Stiles in his pack, Derek felt no loyalty and no need to defend him. ‘And they’re notoriously hard to kill, especially a coven this big.’

‘You know about vampires?’ Stacey asked quickly, interest clear on her face.

‘You’re seriously trying to tell me that you believe vampires are real?’ Scott sighed and rolled his eyes.

Derek gave him a condescending look. Why the hell had he agreed to come back here? He was happy where he was, he could currently be out running with his pack, or having a barbeque, or relaxing in a hammock, or having a lazy day, or cutting up wood for the winter, or sleeping. He could literally be doing anything other than standing here, babying a man who hated him. ‘So you believe in were animals, werewolves, werecoyotes, werejaguars, druids, witches, banshee’s and chimera’s, but not vampires?’

Scott frowned, suddenly looking unsure. ‘Vampires are real?’

Derek stared at him for several long seconds. How the hell was this idiot still alive? And what the hell was Isaac thinking wanting to join his pack? ‘Yes!’

Scott flashed his red eyes at him and Derek snarled back, flashing his own blue eyes in return. He may not be an Alpha, nor want to be one but Scott was not his Alpha and he’d taken down Alpha’s before. It was about time that stupid idiot was reminded of that fact.

‘Well, this just makes my night even more interesting.’ A female voice full of amusement suddenly said.

Derek froze and narrowed his eyes at her. He’d hadn’t sensed or smelt her approach, and as he sniffed the air now, it only cemented what he had already guessed. He shifted into his beta shift and snarled. ‘Vampire.’

‘Well done mutt.’ She grinned broadly at him. ‘Although kudos for managing to convince the Idiot Alpha of our existence.’

Scott snarled at her and crouched down into a fighting position, preparing to attack. Derek held back his sigh at Scott’s blatant signalling of his intent. But he was beaten by Liam who had already lunged at her, without signalling his intent for all to see and then to prepare for. But in a move that was almost too quick to see, the vampire had swung her arm out and sent him flying into the side of the building with what looked like no effort.

Liam hit the brick wall with a loud thud and a cloud of concrete flew out from him and he crumbled to the ground. Derek’s eyes widened but he kept his sight on the vampire who just looked amused while Scott’s pack starred in alarm when Liam didn’t get up or move. Mason ran over to him and they all heard his breath of relief as he felt his pulse which they could hear was still steadily beating.

‘Werewolves. Zero manners and even less intelligence.’ There was amusement in her voice as the vampire rolled her eyes.

‘That was incredible!’ Ava gushed as they excited the cinema. ‘There are not words to cover that entire movie, I mean, how are you meant to describe it in mere words?’

‘Wasn’t it? I mean, oh my god! That fight scene! Awesome, the phwish, phroar, szwing! We have to go see that again! And that ending! Jesus Christ what an ending!’ Stiles cut in excitedly as they talked over each other in their excitement. His dad had been right, as per usual, it had been good to get out of the house. And the relief he’d felt when they managed to snag their favourite seats and not have anyone he had previously known enter the theatre had made the experience even better. ‘Mere words cannot do that film justice! Although come on, not everyone is heterosexual, would it kill people every now and then to see two people of the same gender kiss?’

Ava laughed and then gaped, Stiles followed her eye line and they both stopped as they saw a werewolf go flying into a building on the other side of the road and stay down. Exchanging a look, they quietly hurried over.

‘Werewolves are all about who has the bigger… ego.’ The vampire smirked at her own innuendo.

‘I know right! They have no diplomacy, it’s all “Grr, do as I say! Grr!”’ Ava laughed as she made the fingers, hooking over and impersonating fangs.

Stiles snorted as he tried to keep quiet. As much as he loved getting involved and was never one to back down from a fight, he thought it best to take a back seat, especially as they had an audience of Scott and his pack and he could do without all the inevitable questions. Although he was under no doubt he’d get interrogated about Ava as soon as they possibly could. But that he found easier to dodge than the questions about himself.

The vampire looked at Ava appreciatively, seemingly not realising that she hadn’t been there a minute ago, or just not caring. ‘Hmm, a human who has my viewpoints on werewolves. Are you a hunter?’

‘Please.’ Ava looked insulted. ‘Do I look like a mindless killer?’

Scott growled.

Stiles hid a smile and thanked the power of the herbs that hid his scent so that the wolves couldn’t smell how much he was enjoying this.

‘That right there!’ Ava pointed to him, singling him out. Scott looked taken aback by it. Stiles bit down on his lip. ‘You’re proving my point. No diplomacy, just do as I say because I am the be all and end all.’

The vampire rolled her eyes. ‘He’s an alpha, they all have superiority complexes.’

‘It’s like they have no idea where they are in the supernatural food chain.’ Ava agreed with a heartfelt sigh.

The vampire grinned broadly. ‘Oh, I do like you.’

‘Why thank you.’ Ava preened. 

Stiles tried not to roll his eyes.

‘At least us vampires know our places.’ The vampire smirked.

Stiles knew just how much Ava hated smug supernatural’s who thought they were better than others. He watched the vampire intently, not wanting to miss anything.

‘Oh?’ Ava grinned back at her, moving a step closer and invading her personal space. ‘And where’s that?’

‘Near the top. A lot higher than werewolves.’

‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’ Ava demurred, tilting her head slightly to the side as if contemplating.

Stiles knew it wouldn’t be much longer.

The vampire narrowed her eyes, her hand shooting out and gripping Ava by the throat. ‘And where would you say I was on the food chain?’

Ava grinned. ‘Below me.’ She shifted into a werewolf and ripped the vampires throat out with her teeth as she struck a wooden stake through the vampire’s chest in a move that almost went unnoticed. It would have gone unnoticed if Stiles hadn’t been looking for it and he wondered how many of the wolves had missed it.

The vampire gurgled, looking at her in horror and clutching at her throat, seeming to not notice the stake sticking out of her chest as she stumbled backwards, blood seeping out of her and splattering the ground before disappearing into a pile of dust.

‘But sometimes the brutal approach has its advantages.’ Ava smirked, sounding content.

‘Did you really have to kill her?’ Stiles sighed but he was smiling, earning surprised and shocked stares from everyone else there. ‘We didn’t even get to interrogate her.’

‘Oh, come on.’ Ava pouted as blood dripped off her chin. ‘You haven’t let me kill anything for ages!’

‘Not true!’ Stiles protested vehemently. ‘I let you kill that kelpie last month.’

‘That was an entire month ago!’ She rolled her eyes but Stiles knew she was joking.

‘Wait,’ Scott stared at her and then Stiles, his expression one of disgust. ‘You know she’s…’ He trailed off and glared at Ava. ‘What the hell are you?’

Ava laughed but it lacked any mirth. ‘Ask around little Alpha, try and find out.’

‘I’m not a little Alpha, I’m a True Alpha.’ Scott growled at her. ‘Tell me what you are.’

Ava laughed again. Stiles had to admit, she had a very creepy laugh when she wanted to. ‘Oh dear, who on earth told you that you were a True Alpha? I’ll have to thank them, best laugh I’ve had in years.’

Scott flashed his red eyes at her but she just looked at him amused. ‘You don’t believe me?’

Stiles didn’t know why Scott thought he could intimidate her when she had just killed a vampire and had it’s blood dripping down her mouth and chest.

‘Well, it is all about belief isn’t it?’ She grinned at him. ‘But I am most curious as to who convinced you it was true?’

‘My emissary.’ Scott ground out, still looking furious.

Stiles wondered if his old friend had picked up some anger issues in the years.

‘And of course your emissary had nothing to gain by telling you that. But more importantly, there is no emissary in this area. There is a retired emissary, looking over the area while not living here, but no active emissary in Beacon Hills.’

Scott frowned at her. ‘Deaton isn’t retired.’

Ava bit her lip as she tried to reign in her amusement. ‘Oh dear. Well, you tell Deaton, your not retired emissary, when he next makes an appearance, that Ava says hi.’

Stiles grabbed her hand, giving the others a dismissive smile as they turned their backs on. ‘So, how long should we give it til we re-see that movie?’

Ava groaned as they walked away, both of them ignoring Scott’s loud growl. ‘I’ve told you Stiles, we need to give it a week, seven full days, two is just not long enough!’

‘Two is plenty!’ Stiles exclaimed, his arms flailing around as if to emphasise his point. ‘It’s still fresh in your mind after two!’

‘Five.’ Ava bargained.

‘Five!’ Stiles squawked at her in horror, narrowly missing hitting her as she deftly dodged his flying hand, instead grabbing hold of it and twirling herself around and into side with a carefree laugh.

Stiles glanced back, watching as Derek caught Isaac’s gaze and jerked his head a fraction. Isaac nodded imperceptibly and the two melted back into the shadows while Scott and his pack stared after him.

Stiles wasn’t all that surprised to find Derek, Isaac and Danny waiting for them, however he was surprised that were waiting for them inside the house on the couch. He didn’t know how they had somehow gotten into the house seeing as it was warded against magical creatures entering, so only Danny should have been able to get in. And he had possibly, not at all deliberately, forgotten to tell his dad how to let said magical creatures in.

‘How did you get in?’ He asked in way of greeting them.

‘Err.’ Isaac blinked, looking a little scared.

‘I let them in.’ A familiar haughty voice that was definitely not his father said.

‘Lydia?!’ Stiles exclaimed, grinning broadly as he ran over to her for a hug. He swept her up and twirled her around as she laughed, wrapping her arms around him and burrowing her face into his neck.

‘God, it’s good to see you again.’ She whispered into his ear.

When he put her down, Lydia turned to Ava and her smile fell from her lips. ‘You are not coming near me until you’ve cleaned up.’


	6. Chapter 6

‘Do I even want to know?’ Noah asked in alarm as he stared at Ava. 

Stiles tried hard not to grin at his dad’s shock and worry, even though he knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself and everyone around her. While Ava had cleaned up for the trip home, she still had traces of blood on her top. A lot of traces of blood. To the extent that her top now looked tie-dyed.

Stiles wasn’t surprised that Lydia was refusing to allow her to give her a hug and was instead standing with her arms crossed and a resigned look on her face.

Ava grinned. ‘I ripped a vampires throat out.’

She sounded way too pleased with her herself and Noah gaped at her.

‘With her teeth.’ Stiles sniggered before wincing and sending Derek a sideways glance. He cleared his throat. If he played his cards right, he might be able to find out why Derek had agreed with Scott to kick him out all those years ago. 

Stiles knew that it wasn’t Derek’s idea, Derek had been fine with Stiles being in the pack before then, hell, Stiles had saved his arse that year he had joined the FBI, and so many times before then that he’d lost count. So he knew that it wasn’t what Derek wanted, even his body language at the time had screamed “ _I don’t want to do this!_ ”, he just couldn’t understand why Derek had gone along with it. And while he may no longer trust Derek to the same extent that he did nine years ago, he still trusted him for certain things, the important things. Like his life and safety, his dad’s life and safety. 

He wasn’t sure he even trusted Scott any longer with his dad’s life. And he certainly didn’t trust him with his own. It was another reason why he was so glad that Jordan had stuck around and stayed at the station. Especially when, knowing kicking him out wasn’t Derek’s idea, Stiles had gone to their Alpha, Scott, who had confirmed that it was him kicking him out. It was that betrayal that had him leaving Beacon Hills. It was just Stiles’ shitty luck that that had been someone else’s plan all along. 

‘What are you three doing here?’ Stiles asked with a smile so that his words weren’t taken the wrong way. He honestly didn’t mind, was even actually a little pleased that they had come, and utterly relieved that it wasn’t Scott and Malia.

Derek opened his mouth then closed it again. 

Isaac looked like a scared puppy, his face whipping between Stiles and Derek.

It was Danny who spoke first. ‘You know about the vampires, and how to kill them. We want to know as well.’

‘I don’t think your Alpha will be pleased that you’re here.’ Stiles told them, keeping his breathing even and hopefully his heart rate steady.

Derek growled low in his throat, his expression threatening. ‘Scott is _not_ my Alpha.’

Going by Derek’s reaction, his rather strong reaction, Stiles had a feeling that he might have a new ally on his hands, and that Scott had thoroughly burned his bridges with Derek. There didn’t seem to be any warm and fuzzy feelings on Derek’s part towards the True Alpha. Which he found interesting, Derek always put up with and accepted whatever was thrown at him, so what could Scott have possibly done to warrant that kind of reaction from Derek? He also remembered Derek starting to respect Scott and his beliefs, not that it surprised Stiles that Scott had shot all of that to hell, but once Derek gave you his trust and loyalty, it was hard to break it.

‘Scott isn’t either of our Alpha’s.’ Isaac said softly.

Stiles paused and frowned. Even Lydia looked curious.

‘Aren’t you two in the same pack?’ Lydia asked before Stiles could, looking at them all intently.

Isaac winced. ‘No. I live here now. I’ve been debating joining Scott’s pack as its the only one in the area.’

‘I’m only here in Beacon Hills as a favour to Isaac.’ Derek explained shortly.

‘You’re an omega.’ Stiles said to Derek with some surprise. He’d known that Derek had become an omega before he’d returned to join Scott’s pack and had thought that Derek would never want that again. He may not have been close to going feral but he had confided in Stiles that it had been a constant thought stuck at the back of his mind. The possibility that he could. And as much as Stiles had believed him when he’d said that wasn’t part of why he had returned, Stiles had always wondered.

Derek shook his head. ‘No. I’m part of a pack, but it’s East of here.’

‘I am. Sort of.’ Isaac grimaced. ‘I’m affiliated with several packs, which is why I haven’t gone feral. As long as I’m around werewolves and feel at home, it mimics the feeling of being in a pack and I’m safe from going feral.’

‘That is interesting.’ Stiles said with a raised eyebrow directed at Ava. She slowly nodded back but he could tell that she was doing some intense thinking. As was he. His mind was darting from one thing to another, with one common theme linking all of his thoughts together, and he needed to stop. The last thing he wanted was to work himself into a state in front of these three. There’d be questions, questions that he wasn’t ready and didn’t want to answer. Not yet, maybe not ever. 

_You thinking what I’m thinking?_ Stiles asked Ava, sending his question straight into her mind. 

This ability was unique only to them. They’d tried with others, but their thoughts, well, mainly Lydia’s being the genius of the group, was that it was a combination of their abilities. Or rather, Ava’s abilities and Stiles’ belief, or his spark that enabled his belief, or his belief that enabled his spark. He wasn’t sure which and he’d kept himself awake for many nights trying to figure it out. It was now his go to question when he needed to keep himself awake. It also worked wonders for distracting him from things he didn’t want to think about, well, at least when his ADHD wasn’t making him think of several things at once.

_Way ahead of you._ She replied, like him, forgoing words. With Stiles’ love for constantly speaking and being unable to sit still, they only communicated like this over distances or in company they didn’t trust or, like in this instance, weren’t sure they could trust.

Lydia nodded, then glanced at Danny. ‘How long have you been in the know?’

‘A fair few years.’ He smiled smugly. ‘I dated Ethan, you really think I didn’t know?’

Stiles blinked, surprised that Danny had known for so long. ‘I knew it! I knew you knew!’ He exclaimed excitedly then grinned apologetically at Lydia’s look. ‘Sorry.’

Noah rolled his eyes.

Lydia grimaced. ‘I wish I’d known.’

Danny smiled at her in response. ‘I could never figure out how to tell you, and then when all the chaos calmed down, you never stuck around long enough.’

She shrugged elegantly. ‘I never had a reason to.’

‘So, what’s the deal now then?’ Noah interrupted. ‘Is Scott finally pulling his head out of his arse or what?’

Stiles smiled. It seemed being around them and feeling useful in the face of the supernatural was doing wonders for treating his dad’s melancholy surrounding it. He couldn’t describe how good it was seeing his dad acting like his usual self.

The three newcomers shared a glance.

‘I’d only just gotten Scott to believe in vampires before one turned up.’ Derek scowled. ‘But he wasn’t pleased to find out that we were out looking for the coven.’

‘Yeah, he didn’t believe me when I told him. I had to go through Stacey.’ Noah muttered darkly.

‘So, Scott’s being an ass like usual. What’s new?’ Lydia dismissed. She turned to Stiles and Ava. ‘You two have fought vampires before, what’s stopping you now?’

‘Wait what?’ Danny blinked looking alarmed. Even Isaac looked surprised but Derek looked as if he’d already guessed. Stiles supposed that seeing Ava kill one as quickly as she had, had probably tipped him off.

Ava grinned, her eyes lighting up in excitement. ‘I want to watch the great True Alpha Scott McCall fall flat on his arse.’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘He’s not that bad.’

‘Yes he is.’ Lydia said, eyeballing him so he didn’t argue.

‘Wait, have I just found the “I hate Scott McCall” club?’ Danny asked astonished. ‘Can I join?’

‘Danny!’ Isaac looked at his boyfriend aghast but Danny just shrugged.

Ava wrinkled her nose. ‘We don’t hate him, we just don’t think he’s of any use. Granted I’ve only met him for about two minutes, but I’ve heard a lot about him.’

Stiles winced but stayed quiet.

‘I hate him.’ Lydia said flatly.

‘I hate him.’ Noah agreed to what looked like Derek, Isaac and Danny’s surprise.

Derek shrugged. ‘Yeah, can’t really deny it, I hate him too.’

Stiles looked at him in surprise.

‘I,’ Isaac sighed. ‘I don’t hate him, but I do think he needs help.’

‘Yeah… being put down.’ Lydia said firmly and eyed Isaac so that he didn’t contradict her.

Ava nodded and Stiles had to hide his smile. She was still his Goddess.

Danny snorted but grinned, his dimples coming out.

‘You must be Danny.’ Ava smiled at him and Stiles winced when he realised he hadn’t actually introduced Ava to any of them. He smiled at her meekly but she didn’t seem to mind.

Danny frowned, looking hesitant. ‘Yeah.’

‘Stiles and Melissa tried to describe you to me, all they managed was dimples and “he’s just Danny”, meeting you, I get it now.’

Danny blinked at her. ‘Dimples and he’s just Danny”?’ He looked at Stiles. _‘That’s_ how you describe me?’

Stiles snorted. ‘We were trying to explain how no one could possibly get or stay upset with you.’

‘Oh.’ Danny said pleased. ‘Hear that babe? No one can get upset with me.’

Isaac sighed. ‘I know. It’s infuriating. I end up upset with myself instead.’

Danny laughed and kissed his cheek. Isaac blushed.

‘What I want to know is,’ Lydia said staring at Danny. ‘Why do you hate Scott?’

Isaac paled. Danny sighed. ‘It’s a long private story.’

‘Damn, as much as I love long private stories, we just don’t have the time.’ Ava sighed regretfully but Stiles could see her eyes twinkle.

Danny threw her a grateful smile.

Derek immediately latched onto her save. ‘So how did you kill that vampire?’

Ava shrugged. ‘Distraction.’

‘You’re a werewolf?’ He asked confused.

Ava smiled. ‘No. I’m not.’

‘But you shifted into one.’

Stiles could easily understand their confusion. Ava was rare. Incredibly rare. And took the secret of what she truly was extremely seriously. He knew, but then he was the master of research and she trusted him implicitly. Lydia knew as well, even though she didn’t know that she knew. She had her suspicions that Ava refused to confirm or deny, but Lydia wasn’t stupid.

Ava shrugged. ‘I can shift into most animals. Doesn’t mean I am one.’ Derek stared at her, the question written all over his face, but he didn’t ask her. She smiled at his manners. ‘That’s an even longer story than Danny’s.’

Derek nodded, respecting her right to privacy. ‘Can you help us kill the rest?’

Ava glanced at Stiles. ‘Stiles?’

Stiles glanced at Ava. 

‘It’s your call.’ Ava said with a gentle smile.

Stiles knew that if he and Ava got involved, they could probably handle the vampires situation without any casualties and depending on how quickly they could find them, maybe even without any more deaths. They would need to do a lot more research, but it would put his mind at ease knowing that his dad was safe.

‘We can’t do this without you.’ Derek said, startling him. 

It wasn’t like Derek to admit to needing help, or rather, it wasn’t like the old Derek to admit to needing help. Stiles didn’t know this Derek any more, after all, it had been nine years. People changed, he’d changed, had he really expected Derek not to change? Not to heal after getting away from the shitstorm that was Beacon Hills?

Stiles looked at him, wondering what else had changed about his Sourwolf that he didn’t know about. He’d like the opportunity to find out, and taking care of these vampires would probably give him that. Derek wasn’t one to sit out. He sighed and shrugged. ‘Sure, why not?’

Lydia sighed loudly. ‘Is someone going to explain to me about the vampires or do I have to guess everything?’

Noah snorted and squeezed her hand affectionately. Stiles had to bite his lip to stop him laughing at Derek’s, Isaac’s and Danny’s shocked expressions, but him and Ava grinned at Lydia. He was surprised that she stayed quiet for so long, but had obviously wanted to get some answers for questions that she wasn’t willing to ask. ‘But your guesses are always so accurate.’

She glowered at them but relented. ‘There's a vampire problem in Beacon Hills and Ava killed one of them tonight. What I can’t understand is why you didn’t kill them when you first got here.’

Noah winced and cleared his throat. ‘That’s probably my fault.’

‘Oh.’ Lydia said softly, understanding crossing her face. She smiled sympathetically and rubbed his good arm. ‘You wanted to protect them and either didn’t tell them or asked them to stay out of it.’

‘Both.’ Stiles, Ava and Noah all said at the same time.

Lydia nodded. ‘So how many are left?’

Ava shrugged. ‘I guessed there were about ten going by the photos.’

‘And what did McCall do about them?’

Everyone stayed quiet. Eventually Danny spoke. ‘He wanted to keep all us of us out of it and refused to believe in the existence of vampires.’

‘Moron.’ Lydia muttered under her breath but everyone heard, even the humans.

‘He believes now.’ Ava grinned wickedly.

Stiles snickered.

Even Derek cracked a smile.

Isaac winced as he caught sight of the time. ‘Guys, I need to get going if I want to get any sleep before work tomorrow.’

‘What do you do?’ Lydia asked interested.

Isaac smiled shyly. ‘I’m a teacher at the high school. I used to just be a sub, but I got offered a full time position the start of the school year.’

Danny beamed proudly, even Derek looked proud at him as well.

‘That’s brilliant, what do you teach?’ Stiles said and meaning it. Isaac had changed a lot from the scared child and then the angry self-absorbed werewolf he had become.

Isaac winced. ‘Sports. Took over from Coach Finstock.’

Lydia grinned but looked intrigued at his reaction. ‘Don’t you enjoy it? Being a werewolf and all?’

Isaac shrugged, his blasé expression making it clear that it wasn’t his dream job.

Danny answered for him. ‘He has a part time photography business as well.’

‘I don’t get much time to devote to it anymore, just in the holidays. But I love it.’ Isaac’s voice was wistful.

‘Why did you go into teaching if you love photography?’

Isaac shrugged helplessly. ‘Chris said I should I go into teaching, that I would be a really good teacher and photography wouldn’t be guaranteed to pay the bills.’

Stiles froze, almost folding in on himself.

_Breathe_. Ava reminded him.

‘He sounds like an arse.’ Ava said bluntly. ‘But we don’t want to keep you, if you need to get going.’

The two werewolves and Danny recognised the dismissal for what it was. Derek shot Stiles a questioning look and Stiles doubted either of the werewolves had missed his reaction to Chris’s name. But it couldn’t be helped. He had managed earlier, only just, but he was sure that the werewolves had felt something out of place about him. He didn’t want to be reacting like this, he shouldn’t be reacting like this. He had gotten over it, had moved on, had managed to get on with his life and make a damn good living that he enjoyed.

He felt Ava wrap her arms around him. Lydia’s soft hand cup his cheek and his dad’s soothing voice and it helped settle the rushing in his head. His thoughts slowing down and allowing him to actually be able to grab onto to one before the next flew past. He took a breath and closed his eyes, leaning back into Ava’s embrace. ‘I’m okay.’

He’d learnt a long time ago never to tell them he was fine. They knew he said it when he was anything but. And as much as he wanted to be annoyed about them for calling him out on his bullshit, it meant too much to him that they knew him so well.

‘What are we doing about these vampires?’ Lydia asked first thing the following morning.

Stiles glanced over at her, not even bothering to wonder at how put together she looked for only waking up ten minutes ago. He shoved a hand through his messy hand, grown out from his crew cut but still short enough for him not to have to deal with it too much.

‘Kill them, they’re obviously not peaceful.’ Ava answered as Stiles set about making them breakfast. He found it soothing, something from his past and childhood that didn’t bring back bad memories. ‘We just need to find their den first.’

‘Woah, I walked in at wrong the moment.’ Melissa said smiling but with a worried look around her eyes.

‘Melissa.’ Stiles beamed and kissed her cheek as he passed.

‘Morning.’ She smiled back, quickly hugging the girls. ‘Lydia it’s been too long.’

‘It really has Melissa.’ Lydia melted into Melissa’s hug. Stiles smiled affectionately. If there was one superpower that Melissa McCall had, it was giving hugs. And Lydia’s family had never been one to demonstrate affection, especially physical affection. It had taken her a while to get used to it, but Melissa had basically adopted her as well. Not that Lydia’s mom Natalie was out the picture or anything. Lydia had a better relationship with her now that they were both adults, it was just a completely different relationship to the one she had with Melissa.

‘So who are you finding and killing?’ Melissa asked plopping down in a seat and stealing Stiles’ coffee, wincing slightly at the sweetness of it but still taking a second sip.

‘Vampires.’ Ava grinned brightly at her.

‘V-vampires?’ Melissa repeated doubtfully.

‘Umhmm.’ Ava hummed sipping her coffee.

‘Ava killed one last night.’ Lydia supplied.

‘I take it that vampires have been what’s killing these people?’ Melissa sat back in her chair looking thoughtful.

‘You catch on quicker than your son.’ Lydia muttered.

Melissa winced, bringing the coffee to her mouth as if trying to hide behind it. ‘What’s he done now?’

‘He’s trying to keep everyone out of it while refusing to believe that vampires exist.’ Lydia said truthfully.

‘Hey, it’s kinda hard not to believe in their existence after you watch someone kill one.’ Ava grinned and Stiles high fived her as he passed.

‘I take there are more than the one you killed?’

‘Yeah, a whole coven.’ Ava rolled her eyes. ‘But we don’t know anything about them, so we need to find where they’re holding up.’

‘How do we do that?’

Ava winced. ‘That’s the tricky part.’

‘How did Scott pack’s find that vampire last night?’ Lydia asked.

‘His whole pack was there?’ Melissa asked in surprise.

Ava blinked. ‘That is a very good question.’

Stiles sighed, not liking the direction this was going in. He set the food on simmer and put the toast on before sitting down with them. ‘So, who’s best to call, Isaac or Derek?’

None of them would want to call Scott or anyone in his pack, not with how they’d been treating his dad.

‘Derek.’ Lydia and Ava both answered with identical smirks.

‘I hate you both.’ Stiles sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘I don’t have any of their numbers.’

Lydia handed over her phone.

‘I have Isaac’s number.’ Melissa volunteered, then seeing Lydia’s shocked face she grinned and shrugged. ‘I was his guardian for a time, we kept in touch.’

‘How about we see what we can find out first?’ Stiles asked hopefully, not even attempting to take Lydia’s phone from her.

‘Wimp.’ Lydia said but he could see the smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

‘I didn’t know Derek was part of a pack.’ Stiles said, trying for innocent. By the looks on everyone else’s faces, he knew he’d missed it. He was just glad that his father hadn’t come through yet. He didn’t think he could handle it if he ganged up on him as well.

Melissa’s eyes went round and then understanding seemed to dawn on her face. 

Stiles glowered and she didn’t say anything.

‘A few years ago, I heard.’ Lydia replied vaguely.

‘He said it was to the East?’

She nodded. ‘That’s what I heard.’

Stiles narrowed his eyes at her. She was hiding something, something from him. And yet they told each other everything. They may not be as close as they once were but they were still close, a lot closer than most friends were. He and Lydia made sure they met up as often as their jobs allowed them. They had promised each other they wouldn’t go longer than six months without meeting up and two weeks without speaking. Amazingly they had managed it quite easily and hadn’t gone longer than three months without seeing each other. ‘Why so reticent? What do you know?’

‘You want to know about his pack? You ask him.’

Melissa sniggered. ‘This is better than TV.’

Stiles grumbled but knew she had a point. After all, he had never held a grudge against Derek but he’d never let Derek know that, not that he’d been in a position to let him know that. Sure, he’d been pissed and hurt, but he’d known that it wasn’t Derek’s fault. And Derek didn’t know that Stiles had had his sexuality crisis over him, only Ava knew that. Not even Lydia, although Stiles wasn’t stupid enough to assume she hadn’t guessed. But it hadn’t stopped them getting together before Scott had kicked him out and her leaving with him, or rather following him. Stiles had once wondered if Scott had realised that if kicking him out meant that he’d also lose a banshee, if he would still have done it. Lydia had torn him a new one and he’d never brought it up again.

‘I didn’t know Danny was dating Isaac.’ Lydia pointed out. ‘Which would have been nice to know.’

Stiles shrugged. ‘Haven’t spoken to you since I found out. And information goes two ways you know.’

‘Melissa could have told me.’ She grumbled.

Melissa ginned. ‘You never asked.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘So, what’s happened since you got back?’

Stiles shrugged, knowing the change in subject was Lydia’s way of accepting their answers. Whatever she was keeping from him, was either not important or for his own good. He knew she would never let anything bad happen to him. She’d done everything in her power nine years ago to save him. That wasn’t something easily dismissed or forgotten.

‘We don’t know if they’ve realised they can’t smell our emotions but they know I’m supernatural.’ Ava grinned wickedly. ‘They just don’t know what.’

‘You going to tell them?’

‘Nope.’

Melissa chuckled and got up to pour some coffee.

Lydia nodded. ‘You going to tell me?’

‘I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out already,’

Lydia smirked. ‘I have an idea. You figured out who’s in Scott’s pack?’

‘We met them at the firefighter’s picnic. Assuming they were all there, Scott still has the old pack with three more. One female who Noah has told us is the coroner and a werewolf and two males we haven’t been introduced to yet.’

‘Interestingly enough, Mason is still the only human.’ Stiles added.

‘That we know of.’ Lydia added absently.

‘That we know of.’ Ava agreed.

‘Him and Corey are the ones I usually see.’ Melissa agreed.

‘Danny would know, he, Isaac and Derek were at the picnic with them.’ Stiles mused. ‘Which I’m still confused about. If Scott isn’t either of their Alphas why were they with him? And Danny? Why was he with them? Although if Isaac’s been thinking of joining Scott’s pack, big mistake that, that would explain why Danny and Isaac were there.’

Melissa looked at him proudly.

Ava let out a relieved sigh. ‘And there’s the Stiles we know and love.’

He looked at her startled. ‘What? What do you mean? I haven’t gone anywhere, I’ve been right here, with you.’

‘You’ve been quiet and still since we got here. I haven’t liked it. It’s not you.’

He smiled, feeling a slight heat rising into his cheeks. The toast popped up and he set about buttering it. Had he been quiet? He was pretty sure he had, even though he hadn’t noticed. He wasn’t at ease here and he’d learnt to shut up over the years, but when he was relaxed and surrounded by family, he let his barriers down and who he really was came to the fore. He was just lucky that those he loved accepted that and still loved him. And apparently missed it when he acted quiet.

‘Fucking Beacon Hills.’ Lydia muttered.

‘I’m more inclined to blame Scott. He’s even got Noah acting out of sorts.’ Ava said with an apologetic look to Melissa.

She winced and raised her coffee mug in acknowledgement but stayed quiet.

Lydia blinked and stared at her in disbelief. ‘You’re joking! How?’

Ava shrugged. ‘From what we’ve seen, dismissing him when Noah goes to him with a supernatural case, then looking into it on the sly.’

‘He’s now trying to push the Sheriff out of Beacon Hills?!’

‘I don’t think so.’ Ava mused. ‘But he’s definitely trying to keep the sheriff out of the supernatural.’

‘And me.’ Melissa added quietly.

‘Fucking idiot.’ Lydia muttered, sipping her coffee darkly, wincing at the taste then glaring at Stiles.

He quickly placed five plates on the table. ‘I’ll do a coffee run shall I?’

Lydia smirked.

‘After we’ve eaten. I’ll let dad know breakfast is ready.’

Lydia sighed but didn’t comment as she ignored the food he’d made and helped herself to some fruit and yoghurt. Stiles grinned as he left the kitchen to hurry his dad along, he’d forgotten just how much he missed Lydia.

‘Deaton!’ Scott practically growled, his anger evident in his voice. 

Deaton could imagine Scott scowling at him as well, as he answered the phone. Technically Deaton was still his boss but he would soon be completely retired in a few months once Scott had finished paying him off for the practice. While technically he was still on the books, he didn’t work there anymore. 

It had been a long time coming and he couldn’t wait til he could wash his hands from that town entirely. He still popped in every couple of months, or maybe twice a year, and Scott usually had a string of questions for him even though he had his phone number. Which he would also be changing the second all the paperwork had gone through, there was a reason he hadn’t given Scott his new address or told him where he was. 

‘Who the hell is Ava?’

Deaton blinked, tucking his phone in between his ear and neck, and put down the towel he was drying his hands with. 

‘Where did you hear that name?’ He asked calmly. A lot more calmly than he felt, wondering where exactly Scott had gotten that name from.

‘Stiles’ girlfriend. She’s supernatural and controlling Stiles somehow. She killed a vampire, told me I wasn’t a True Alpha, that you weren’t an emissary and to tell you that “Ava says hi”. So who the hell is she and I hope you don’t mind if I kill her!’

Deaton sighed, knowing that most of that was just talk. Scott still had his black and white feelings on killing as he did as a teenager. There was no way Scott would be killing anyone unless it was as a last resort. Although it was interesting to hear that Stiles was back. And while he hoped that the name of Stiles’ girlfriend was just a coincidence, he wouldn’t be at all surprised that Stiles had managed to get involved with Ava.

Deaton still couldn’t understand Scott’s reasoning for sending him away. He had been hoping that Stiles would eventually take over as emissary, that was why he hadn’t taught the boy much about his spark. It was his knowledge that would get Stiles accepted as an emissary and Stiles picked up information better than anyone Deaton had met before. But unfortunately, he’d had to look elsewhere for an emissary, and the one he had been forced to pick out was still proving reluctant.

‘I need more information than that, Ava is a common name after all.’ At least, he prayed it was. He knew he’d made mistakes, and instead of rectifying them, he’d left. It was too late anyway, and the people he’d wronged were no longer in Beacon Hills. 

He now had a new emissary lined up, she might be dragging her feet but he’d heard she had an attraction to one of the wolves in the pack, so hopefully it wouldn’t be too much longer. And even if it was, he would still be leaving. He should have left a long time ago. He never should have remained after the fire.

Scott sighed as if put upon. ‘About Malia's height, slight, long black hair, green eyes, half shifted into a werewolf, ripped a vampires throat out and staked it at the same time. Only she has no scent.’

Deaton sighed. It certainly sounded like Ava. The no scent thing meant nothing, anyone with even a slight amount of power or even knowledge about herbs could do that. ‘You cannot not kill her.’

Scott snarled down the phone. ‘She’s controlling Stiles! Watch me!’

‘I highly doubt that. It is not like Ava to bother with controlling someone. It also goes against her morals.’ Deaton had no idea that Scott still held such strong loyalties or opinions on Stiles.

He heard Scott take a deep breath. ‘And you’d know about her morals?’

‘I do and I did not say you may not kill her, I said you cannot kill her.’ Deaton attempted to explain, although with Scott’s snarky attitude he wasn’t sure why he was bothering. 

He heard the phone crack down the other end of the line and wondered how tightly Scott was holding on to it and if his control was slipping.

‘What? Are you - are you saying she can’t be killed?’ Scott sounded quite confused.

Deaton sighed. ‘Ava has been around for a while and no one has ever succeeded in killing or even harming her.’

‘That’s impossible! Just tell me how to get rid of her or kill her.’

‘I cannot as I do not know.’ Deaton told him calmly.

‘How do I stop her controlling Stiles?’ Scott growled unhappily.

‘Why do you think she is controlling Mr Stilinski?’ Sometimes getting information out of Scott was harder than getting blood out of a stone, and you had to know the right questions to ask as he often forgot vital information. It was one of the downfalls of leaving Beacon Hills, at least when he was there, Scott had usually appeared with at least one of his beta’s who would willingly fill in the information before Deaton had to ask.

‘He’s not acting like himself!’

‘It has been almost a decade since you last saw Mr Stilinski, how do you know he is not acting like himself?’

‘I’m his best friend! I know!’

‘I have never heard of Ava controlling someone. Especially someone like Mr Stilinski.’

‘What do you mean someone like Stiles?’

Deaton closed his eyes and centred himself. ‘Well, he doesn’t have any great power. I do not see how it would benefit her.’

‘But she could? She has that power?’

Deaton mused that over. ‘It is entirely possible that she could, whether or not she would though, is another matter.’

‘How powerful is she?’

‘Well, that is a question that has been asked for centuries. And the answer is: no one really knows.’

‘What?’ Scott demanded, sounding even more confused. ‘Centuries? Why would that question be asked for centuries? She looks barely even twenty-five!’

Deaton gave it a minute but it still didn’t seem to click. He shouldn’t have been surprised. ‘As I said, Ava has been around for a while. She is very well known.’

‘So what is she? She turned into a werewolf but she doesn’t smell like one.’

Deaton wasn’t surprised that Scott had let go of her age, although without having his facial cues to go on, he was unsure if Scott had gathered what that meant. ‘Strictly speaking, no one is sure what Ava is. I don’t even know if Ava herself knows, although if she doesn’t, she doesn’t seem to care. But no, she is not a werewolf.’

‘What do you mean she doesn’t know what she is?’ Scott sounded taken aback.

‘Exactly that, although she does seem to take an inordinate amount of pleasure in not telling anyone what she is.’ Deaton mused. 

The druid community took great pleasure in discussing what Ava might or might not be. It seemed to be an eternal debate that had been going on for hundreds of years. Ever since a mage had found a likeness drawn of her before the time of Christ, then another, then another, and then it became photographs. And in none had she ever changed her name or looked to have aged.

‘And no one knows what she is or how powerful she is? How is that possible?’ Deaton shrugged but didn’t answer, not that one was needed as Scott continued on. ‘She shifted into a werewolf to kill that vampire.’ 

‘There are vampires in Beacon Hills?’ Deaton asked, vaguely interested. Was that why Ava had gone there? He had heard about someone starting up something that would police the supernatural world.

‘So she has to be a werewolf or something.’ Scott concluded.

‘She has been known to shift into various animals.’ Deaton agreed, wondering if Scott had even heard him say that she wasn’t a werewolf or if he was just wilfully ignoring him.

‘So she’s a shifter.’ Scott sounded smug at his own deduction. ‘I didn’t know that was a thing.’

‘It isn’t.’ Deaton blinked. It was in moments like these that highlighted how wrong he had been to back the young man. But his options had been limited and he had done what he thought best at the time. It just turned out that he had been wrong. So very wrong.

‘But that’s what this Ava woman is. Now I know what she is, I just need to break her hold over Stiles.’ Scott concluded.

‘Scott, the vampires?’ Deaton sighed quietly into the phone, only hearing a dial tone in response.

He sighed, knowing it was only a matter of time until Scott remembered and called back, asking him how to defeat them. He mentally catalogued his inventory back in Beacon Hills, making sure he had everything needed to kill vampires, Scott definitely had his work cut out for him. Vampires were notoriously hard to kill, although if Ava was in town, there was a high possibility she would deal with them. He wondered how Stiles had met her and felt a small frisson of envy and excitement that Stiles knew her and was, according to Scott, dating her. 

He sighed again as he glanced around his kitchen. He’d made a mistake when he’d chosen Scott to become a True Alpha. But given the opportunity, he knew he wouldn’t change anything, although he did owe Derek Hale one hell of an apology. He knew he had wronged him, choosing Scott over him, but even now he struggled to even look at the Hales without seeing the woman he loved in them. The woman he hadn't been able to save and had died screaming surrounded by her family because Derek had trusted the wrong person. 

He’d need to strengthen his wards if Ava was in Beacon Hills, he doubted it would take her long to figure out what he had done, if she hadn’t already.


	7. Chapter 7

‘Stiles!’

Stiles looked around as he heard his name being called. He’d just ordered the coffees and was waiting for them to be made. There’d barely been any queue and he’d hoped he’d make it out without being hailed, so far most people had stared and whispered in carrying voices that that was the Sheriffs son who’d disappeared almost ten years ago and hadn’t been seen since. So he was relieved to see it was Danny who’d called out. Especially as Melissa had headed on to work, leaving him alone while Lydia and Ava had stayed at home keeping his dad company.

‘Coffee run for the girls?’ Danny asked as Stiles approached his table. He wasn’t surprised to see a laptop and notes covering most of the table and a finished coffee, but it made him realise he didn’t know what Danny did for a living.

Stiles frowned in confusion for a second before it clicked. ‘You recognised Lydia’s order.’

Danny chuckled. ‘Nice to know some things haven’t changed.’

Stiles hummed and nodded at the table. ‘You working?’

Danny grimaced and half nodded. ‘Yeah, got bored at home, needed a change of scenery.’

‘What is it you do?’

Danny grinned. ‘I’m a white hat.’

Stiles' eyes widened at Danny’s words. Danny had always been good with computers, so the fact that his career reflected that wasn’t a surprise. Nor was it a surprise that he still hacked, Stiles had used his services whenever Danny had let him get away with it. Which wasn’t half as much as Stiles would have liked, so a white hat made sense. ‘That’s awesome man! Holy shit, you must know so much! Are you freelance? God you must have so much fun! And make such a killing! Do people get pissed off with you?’ Stiles scoffed as he heard what he’d said. ‘Of course not, what am I saying? You’re Danny!’

Danny looked at him, slightly wide eyed but smiling at the monologue that had spilled out of Stiles’ mouth. Now that Stiles knew that he’d been quiet, it seemed he had subconsciously decided to make up for it. Although he did feel comfortable around Danny. It probably helped that Danny was now in the know, had asked for his help and wouldn’t go running to Scott, not if their conversation last night was anything to go by.

‘Order for Stiles!’ The barista yelled out stopping Stiles’ tirade.

‘Sorry man, better go.’ Stiles smiled and half nodded at the door, surprised to see Danny’s own smile disappear and spoke before he thought. ‘Hey, you wanna come back to the house with me?’

‘Yeah, sure!’ Danny quickly grabbed his stuff, stuffing it haphazardly into his bag and following Stiles out. This time it was Stiles who was a little wide-eyed. Danny had never been one eager to hang around with him, he’d always been nice and polite, joking around with him and had never picked on him. But he’d never gone out of his way to hang around with him either.

‘I never thought I’d say this, but it’s so good to see you again.’

Stiles’ laugh bubbled up and out of him quickly leaving him with a grin on his face. ‘Honestly? I never thought you would either. But it is. I mean, you. It’s good to see you again. Not me, because I see myself every time I look in the mirror. Which is most days. And every time I brush my teeth which is twice a day.’

Danny chuckled and shook his head. ‘God, it was weird when you left.’

Stiles froze but tried to hide it and carried on walking to his car, internally wincing at the rubbish that had spilled out of his mouth. Usually it was just Ava, Lydia, his dad and Melissa who were subjected to it. He wasn’t quite sure why his brain had decided to expose Danny to it as well. ‘Weird?’

‘Yeah.’ Danny shrugged. ‘I mean I wasn’t here, second year at MIT you know? But no one seemed to know what the hell was going on or where you were.’

Stiles blinked and went with the easiest option. ‘So what are you doing back here?’

Danny laughed. ‘Set up my own business. I can work anywhere. I was based in New York for a bit, but got fed up with the city life, went to Hawaii for a while and stayed with family. Decided to do some travelling, only managed a couple of months before it got lonely and I met Isaac. Kinda latched onto him, being the first friendly face I recognised.’

‘And I take it the rest is history?’

Danny winced. ‘Not exactly.’

Stiles grimaced. ‘Sorry, heard there were a couple break-ups. Didn’t mean to pry.’ 

He had no idea what that must feel like, breaking up and getting back together. His only serious relationships had been Malia and Lydia and he’d never fallen out with either of them over it or gotten back together. And he knew he never would. While he may not be on good terms with Malia, Lydia was now one of his best friends. His only other relationships had been one-night stands or not serious. But he didn’t want to get into that or explain it to anyone.

Danny laughed but it had a hint of sadness to it. ‘Where the hell is the old Stiles Stilinski? He never batted an eyelid at prying.’

‘Ah, he grew up I’m afraid.’ Stiles said sadly.

‘Yeah, sucks doesn’t it.’ Danny sighed, looking despondent.

Stiles nudged his shoulder, he hadn’t wanted to upset him by bringing up bad memories. ‘Some people suck more than others.’

Danny chuckled and shook his head. ‘Only you Stiles.’

‘Hey, I’ll have you know, I’ve been told I’m pretty good at the whole sucking thing.’ Stiles grinned, wondering if Danny had ever figured that out about him. If Danny had figured out the whole supernatural shit show that had been going on, surely he had figured out that Stiles wasn't strictly straight either. After all Stiles had given Danny as many clues as he possibly could have at high school short of sticking his tongue down a guys throat. Which seeing as he hadn’t had many opportunities to stick his tongue down anyone’s throat, hadn’t really been a viable option to him then.

Danny ogled at him. ‘Are we talking about the same thing?’

‘Well, I dunno about you, but I’m talking about blow jobs.’ He said bluntly. The last few years, he’d had quite a few opportunities for not only sticking his tongue down other people’s throats, but exploring both sides of his sexuality. Quite thoroughly.

Danny gaped. ‘Wait? What? You mean all those times you asked if you were attractive to gay guys its because you were…’

‘Yeah, well, I’m bi not gay.’

Danny shook his head, looking stunned. ‘I never would have guessed. Holy hell, what happened to the jeep?’ Danny stared thunderstruck at the sleek dark SUV Stiles had just opened with his key fob.

‘Oh, err.’ Stiles blushed sheepishly. ‘It’s still in my dad’s garage but I drive this now.’

Danny nodded and grinned slyly. ‘Ava refuse to drive it?’

Stiles just chuckled without responding. 

‘You are just full of surprises today Stiles.’

  


‘Hey guys, look who I ran into!’ Stiles called out as Lydia heard the front door open, then a moment later slam back shut. 

No wonder he had taken so long. She had been beginning to get worried and it had only been the fact that Ava was relaxed that had stopped her from pacing. Stiles wasn’t the only one who hated this town, but at least she could concentrate on him rather than her own issues.

‘Danny!’ Lydia smiled as she kissed his check, giving him the proper greeting she should have last night. But she hadn’t expected to arrive back to find Ava covered in someone else’s blood, even if she should have known there would be some supernatural crisis going on, it was Beacon Hills after all. And while she knew that Stiles was more than capable of taking care of himself, and that vampires wouldn’t be going out in daylight, she still worried about him. She always would.

‘Did you remember the coffee?’ Noah called out, ignoring his son and guest. ‘Lydia won’t let me have any, or even use our machine!’

Lydia rolled her eyes but she was only looking out for their health, that coffee machine needed to come with a health warning. And if it wasn’t up to her standards, then why would she let those she loved use it?

‘Yes, I remembered the coffee.’ Stiles sighed but held it up victoriously.

Lydia glared at Stiles as she grabbed the tray of coffees off him. How could he invite someone over and not get them coffee when that was the whole point of him going out? ‘We’re one short.’

‘I already drank mine.’ Danny grinned, flashing his dimples.

Lydia relented, Danny always had been good at settling her, even if he had no idea why she was worked up. But the others knew, and to their credit, they had just rolled with it.

Ava hadn’t been with them when Stiles had disappeared, and Noah had had a life-time of worrying about his son, but Lydia had never gotten over that fear. The helplessness of not knowing where he was or if he was okay, of knowing deep down that something bad had happened and being unable to prove it. Of not knowing if he was alive or dead. She knew that Noah hadn’t gotten over it either, he just hid it a lot better than she did. He knew his son and he knew that Stiles did not do well with being mothered or told what to do. Not that that stopped her. They still had their spats, Stiles accusing her of being overbearing and she of him being careless, but they both dealt and never held it against each other.

‘So, we’re set for coffee for the next ten to fifteen minutes if we’re not allowed to make any here.’ Ava sighed as she made grabby hands at Lydia for her coffee. 

Lydia handed it over, relaxing slightly when Ava rubbed her arm reassuringly. ‘Stiles, you need to get your father a decent coffee machine. I don’t know how you expect him to get better with this sludge you call coffee.’

Stiles blinked then sighed. ‘I guess I’m going to buy a coffee machine.’

She knew her tone was a bit too sharp but she could also see the understanding and acceptance in his eyes. ‘Take Ava with you, who knows what rubbish you’d end up buying on your own.’

‘Do I get to at least drink this coffee first?’

Lydia rolled her eyes. ‘Fine, but you do know your coffee is in a “to go” cup right?’

‘Might as well take me with you.’ Noah said, eyeing Lydia dubiously. 

She smiled sweetly at him. ‘I think the fresh air will agree with you.’

‘And we might as well go now.’ Stiles agreed.

‘Danny can stay here and keep me company.’ Lydia smiled sweetly even though she knew she was coming across more as a predator stalking her prey, and if Danny’s uneasy look was anything to go by, then he thought so too. ‘We can catch up.’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles said, eyeing Danny apprehensively as they left. ‘Good luck man.’

Ava winked at Lydia as she grabbed the car keys and led the men from the house.

‘Well, that was subtle.’ Danny said pointedly as soon as the front door closed and they were alone.

Lydia looked at him unimpressed, she had more important business to attend to than worry about subtlety. ‘What’s the deal with you guys and Scott?’

‘What do you mean?’ Danny asked, instantly looking confused.

Lydia sighed knowing that she had to give Danny more to go on, he was lucky she was willing to. ‘Scott hurt Stiles, more than Scott realises and Stiles refuses to tell him, he won’t let us say anything either. But that doesn’t mean we won’t protect him. So, what’s the deal with you guys and Scott?’

Danny sighed and Lydia could see the fight go out of him. He’d never been able to win against her in fight, well not often anyway. ‘I don’t like him. Personal reasons that have fuck all to do with Scott. Isaac needs an Alpha if we’re to settle here, he’s on the fence about whether or not that Alpha will be Scott.’

Lydia looked at him shrewdly and knew that Danny had the feeling that she knew exactly what his deal was with Scott. His words told her a lot more than he probably realised and she felt for him, she truly did. He deserved much more and better than that, and if she could help him see that while she was stuck back in this town, then she would do her best to make sure he did. ‘And Derek?’

‘Derek’s here because Isaac asked him to come.’ He winced at her querying eyebrow. ‘He thinks Derek can help Scott and the pack.’

Lydia snorted. ‘Isaac should know better. Scott will never willingly accept help from Derek.’

‘Why not?’ Danny asked curiously.

Lydia sighed, love really could be blind sometimes. ‘You know the story of how this all kicked off I assume?’ Danny nodded. ‘Well Derek wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the information or explaining, so neither Stiles nor Scott trusted him. Stiles quickly began to trust him in life and death situations, but Scott didn’t. Scott never wanted to be a werewolf so when Derek told him the old wives’ tale of killing the Alpha who bit you might turn you human again, he clung onto it. Blamed Derek when Derek killed Peter instead of letting Scott do it. Scott never forgave him. And Derek? Derek was a shitty Alpha who had no idea how to be an Alpha. But he knew more than Scott.’

Danny frowned. ‘So that’s why Scott hates Derek? Because Derek stopped him from killing?’

Lydia scrunched her nose up. ‘It’s a little more complicated, but essentially, yes. Although I don’t know if Scott hates him or just doesn’t care about him. In the beginning Scott didn’t have much control and refused to listen to Derek.’

‘Why?’

‘Derek didn’t want him around Allison, understandable not just for the fact that she was a hunter but also because of what her aunt had done to Derek, completely disregarding the fact that Scott didn’t have control over his shift and could have killed her.’

‘Allison’s aunt was Kate, right?’ Danny frowned as he nodded. ‘Isaac’s told me a little about her. She had a thing for Derek and kept trying to kill him.’

Lydia snorted, amused but not surprised that not even Isaac knew the full story of Kate Argent. But then, even if he did, he might have wanted to keep Derek’s confidence. ‘It’s more complicated than that. Kate was a psycho bitch and she caused the Hale house fire, deliberately trapping them all in the house beforehand.’

Danny paled.

‘But, that’s not my story to tell.’ Lydia relented. There was a whole lot more, but she didn’t feel it was her place to say, and not this early on. Maybe further down the line seeing how things panned out. She hoped she could trust Danny, she felt as if she could and she trusted her gut instincts.

Danny was quiet for a moment. ‘Is that why Scott doesn’t want Derek involved in getting the vampires?’

Lydia blinked. ‘What?’

‘Oh.’ Danny winced. ‘You didn’t know that?’

‘I thought you meant he was trying to keep the humans out. Shit, this is worse than I thought.’ Lydia rubbed at the side of her head. ‘Why is Scott so unwilling to accept help?’

Danny shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Is that my interrogation over?’

Lydia grinned at him. She hadn’t realised she had missed their friendship, even if he had had more questions answered than she had, but not all of her questions were ones she was willing to come right out with. You very rarely got the truth from those questions if asked straight out. Her remaining questions were ones that only actions could answer. ‘You’ll be pleased to know that you passed.’

Danny laughed. ‘With flying colours, I hope.’

‘As always.’

‘I’m glad you’re back Lydia.’ She smiled at him. ‘But I’m curious, did you come back for Stiles or the reunion?’

Lydia wrinkled her nose and shrugged. It was an easy question to answer honestly. ‘Stiles of course, I wasn’t planning on going but I figure I should show my face, seeing that I’m here.’

He frowned. ‘So, you really only came back for Stiles?’

‘Of course.’ She arched an eyebrow as if the answer was obvious. Danny was thinking of the Lydia ten years ago, the Lydia that had been a teenager and had wanted nothing more than to be popular and hide how smart she really was. She wasn’t that girl anymore; she had grown up and into who she was.

‘The Lydia I knew, always had an ulterior motive. You two are close then?’

She snorted. She always had ulterior motives, but now they benefitted not just her but those she loved and cared for too, not that Danny needed to know that. He’d find out in time. ‘You could say that. And I changed.’

Danny gave her a funny look. ‘So you stayed friends after you broke up?’

Lydia stared at him for a moment wondering how he’d known they’d broken up. Surely it wasn’t that obvious that they wouldn’t last, she half raised her shoulder. ‘We both realised we were better off as friends rather than lovers.’

Danny smiled at her. ‘It took you and Jackson years to realise that!’

She laughed and nodded. Her and Jackson had always been more explosive than her and Stiles. ‘It did. But Stiles and I never fell out over it.’

‘Jackson said he was wasn’t coming back. He graduated from his school in England, not Beacon Hills High, so wasn’t invited.’ Danny sighed and even Lydia could see that he was upset he wouldn’t be seeing his friend. But she knew they kept in touch. Jackson was always bragging to everyone he spoke to about Danny and how he had connections.

Lydia shrugged. ‘He’s coming back, he’ll go as someone’s plus one.’

‘How do you know?’ Danny asked suspiciously. 

Lydia grinned. ‘You weren’t the only one who kept in touch with him.’

Danny narrowed his eyes. ‘So you know he’s no longer living in England?’

Lydia rolled her eyes. ‘Please. Him and Ethan moved back to the states two years ago.’

‘Have you visited him?’

She blinked and eyed him intently. ‘Yes and no. I’ve visited him in the city where he and Ethan live, but not met his pack.’

‘Same.’ Danny exclaimed with some annoyance. ‘He keeps putting me off. Saying I can meet his pack when I leave Beacon Hell behind me in the dust.’

Lydia shrugged, as if it didn’t bother her. Jackson had never said she could visit his pack, and while she wasn’t too upset about it, it did puzzle her. ‘He says he’s protecting his pack.’

‘I don’t understand how meeting us would put them in danger?!’

‘I have an idea.’

Danny snorted. ‘Of course you do, you’re Lydia Martin.’

‘Wait, Jackson knows that you know?’ Lydia narrowed her eyes at him angrily. She hated being the last to know and while she could understand that Danny hadn’t told her, Jackson sure as hell should of. They’d repaired their friendship and spoke often. They were actually closer now than when they’d been together in school, just without the romantic attachment.

‘Yeah.’ Danny winced sheepishly. ‘We may have had it out with each other a couple months ago.’

Lydia huffed. ‘Well that explains his shitty mood the last time I spoke to him.’ She narrowed her gaze onto him, knowing how effective it was at pinning someone in place. ‘What did he tell you about his pack?’

‘Nothing, he hadn’t meant to tell me anything, but once we’d stopped shouting at each other for him not telling me about the supernatural and me waiting for him to tell me, I asked him if he was like Isaac, affiliated with several packs or an omega.’ Danny rolled his eyes self-deprecatingly. ‘He haughtily told me he was better than that and Isaac was an idiot for thinking that that would stop him from turning into a feral omega. His pack had witnessed it.’

‘His pack?’ Lydia repeated, thinking furiously trying to figure out if that cemented her theory or just blew it up in the water.

‘Yeah he hadn’t meant to say it and refused to say anything more on the subject. It’s the only reason I’ve been supporting Isaac in joining Scott’s pack.’

She didn’t know what the deal with Scott was, but he seemed to be a very sore subject for Danny and Isaac. And from what Danny had said earlier, he wouldn’t be willing to speak about it, not yet anyway. Although she did want to ruminate on all that Danny had told her, especially about Jackson and his pack, but she couldn’t do that while Danny was here. She needed a change of subject. ‘Don’t remind Stiles about the reunion.’

‘Why not?’

‘He doesn’t know. I haven’t told him about it.’

Danny frowned. ‘So he’s not going?’

‘Oh, he’s going.’

‘I don’t follow.’

‘Stiles won’t want to go. He’ll know that Scott will be there, surrounded by his pack. Stiles won’t want to face that, not on his own even though he’ll have Ava and I for back-up. He’ll need more than just us, it’s not about power but friendship. I want Stiles to be surrounded by people he sees as friends if he has to spend a night in the same room as Scott.’

‘Okay.’ Danny frowned in confusion.

‘Which is why we’re all going. Together. Stiles, me, Ava, Jackson, Ethan.’ She frowned. ‘I haven’t figured out whose having Ethan as his plus one yet.’

Danny grinned. ‘Me and Isaac are in.’

Lydia smiled, unwilling to tell him that if Isaac joined Scott’s pack, they’d be on opposite sides. But she knew that Danny was smart, he’d figure it out.

‘What do you think of this one?’ Noah asked Stiles, pointing to the box on the shelf.

Stiles scrunched his nose up as he analysed the box and figured out how many options and attachments it came with. ‘Doesn’t have many options. Needs a latte option otherwise Lydia will kill us and a frother otherwise she’ll never speak to us again.’

‘That might be a good thing.’ Noah muttered under his breath. Stiles grinned at his dad as he replaced the box, although he did wonder if it was because Lydia had managed to get him out the house and she hadn’t even been here twenty-fours yet.

Ava chuckled, picking up the most expensive one in the store. ‘We’re getting this one.’

Noah ogled at her. ‘That one’s twelve hundred bucks!’

Ava shrugged. ‘It’s got all the options and Lydia has one just like it in her apartment.’

‘But it’s twelve hundred bucks!’ Noah repeated but Stiles agreed with Ava. Might as well go with one that they knew that Lydia would approve of rather than risk facing her wrath and having to come back. 

Ava shrugged again and put it on his lap. ‘No matter how many times you repeat that, it isn’t going to stop me from buying it.’

‘Stiles?’ A voice called out.

The three of them looked over to see Malia at the end of the aisle. Stiles felt his heart drop, the last thing he needed was a run in with Scott after last night. He mentally cursed Lydia for requiring her snobby coffee instead of putting up with the sludge that had gotten him through years of high school and the supernatural combined. ‘I thought I smelt you.’

Noah winced. ‘That will never stop being creepy.’

Stiles had once dated her, he was used to how she spoke, but that wasn’t why he felt frozen to the spot.

Ava laughed and nudged him. He took a breath and tried to force his tense muscles to relax.

Malia shrugged.

‘Malia.’ Stiles hid his wince. ‘What are you doing here? I mean, how are you?’

‘Got a day off. Needed a new pair of shoes for work.’

‘Oh, work?’ He wanted to ask where Scott was, if he would be turning the corner in a second but it came out as more of an invitation to discuss her life.

She nodded. ‘I work with Scott at the Vet’s on reception. The people are a pain but the animals are nice, easy to put in their place.’

A startled laugh broke out of Stiles. Not something he would ever have pictured for Malia but he knew how Scott got when he was in love. He’d have wanted her close at all times unable to concentrate or think of anything else. ‘I bet.’

She shrugged. ‘It’s better than other jobs I’ve done. I like this one.’

‘That’s good.’ Stiles wracked his brain for ways to get out of this conversation without flat out sprinting for the car.

‘What about you? How are you?’

It was Stiles turn to shrug. He managed it awkwardly, wondering for the first time if Malia was actually here alone. ‘I’m good.’

Malia smiled at his steady heartbeat and quickly pulled him into a hug. She sniffed at his neck and nuzzled in for a moment. He didn’t know why, she wouldn’t be able to smell anything, he was still using the herbs. Unless that was why she had nuzzled in? ‘Good. I missed you.’

Stiles laughed awkwardly as he slowly extracted himself from her. He didn’t believe her for a second. If she had missed him, she’d have come looking for him.

She let go of him and backed away, a soft sad smile on her face. ‘I’m serious Stiles, I missed you. I’m glad your back.’

Stiles gaped at her as she left, unable to form a sentence or thought.

‘Well, that was interesting.’ Ava said.

Stiles made some sort of noise that not even he was sure what it was meant to mean.

  


‘What is it?’ Lydia demanded after taking one look at Stiles. 

He hadn’t thought she would have been able to tell anything just by taking a look at him. He knew he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, not anymore anyways. He’d been told he was hard to read in the past few years by a lot of people. And while he may not have been dealing with the whole Malia thing well, he hadn’t thought he was doing too badly. Definitely not badly enough to warrant Lydia figuring it out with one look.

He sighed but didn’t answer. He figured he’d earnt the right to be petulant and immature.

‘Malia sniffed him out in the store.’ Ava told her happily.

Lydia frowned. ‘And?’

Ava shrugged. 

‘She said she missed me.’ Stiles grumped. How could she not see how this was screwing him up? That this was a big deal? Malia had no right to say any of those things to him or to even hug him, not after what she had done, or rather what she hadn’t done, what she had failed to do.

Lydia sighed, her unconcerned expression falling as she allowed her emotions to be shown. She looked sad and regretful. ‘She did miss you, why do you think she kept in contact with me?’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘Because it was so hard to keep in touch with me.’

‘Well, for that first year, yes it was.’ Lydia said primly. As she arched an elegant eyebrow.

Stiles gaped for a moment before he laughed. It wasn’t his true laugh, it was a bitter, slightly hysterical laugh. One that he used as a defence. Ava smiled and Noah just shook his head.

‘I don’t get it.’ Danny said, looking around them.

‘Be glad that you don’t.’ Noah sighed, clapping him on his lower back as he wheeled himself past.

‘You don’t think it’s a coincidence that she tracks me down after you take out a vampire?’ Stiles asked pessimistically as he not so subtly changed the subject. He knew they’d allow it though, but only because Danny was here. Danny didn’t know and they wouldn’t tell him. They wouldn’t tell anyone; it was his story to tell and there was no way in hell he was telling anyone. ‘While I’m surprised Scott wasn’t with her, I wouldn’t put it past him to send her to gather as much intel on us as she could. And it makes sense! A lot more sense than that rubbish about her missing me!’

‘No.’ Lydia glared at him.

Ava just shrugged.

‘It was really impressive.’ Danny admitted with a grin.

‘And fun!’ Ava grinned back at him, her smile turning into a chuckle when his faltered.

Stiles glared at them all and obstinately crossed his arms. ‘She only tracked me down because Ava killed that vampire!’

Danny shook his head. ‘Sometimes I don’t get this whole killing thing, but Isaac assures me it’s only evil creatures he kills.’

‘It is.’ Stiles agreed, pleased that Isaac didn’t have Scott’s view on killing evil creatures. It had been that, that had been the start of the end of their friendship. If Scott had been the slightest bit lenient, had recognised the truth when Stiles had tried to tell him, had seen that not everyone had his strength and could fight off supernatural creatures as easily as he could, then they might have stood a chance. ‘We don’t kill the good people, and we don’t always kill.’

‘You don’t?’ Danny asked unsure.

Ava shook her head. ‘There’s a place you can send them, but sometimes you don’t have a choice and killing is the only option available at the time.’

‘What kind of place?’

‘It’s like a prison for the supernatural world.’ Stiles said, not quite ready yet to tell Danny what he and Ava actually did.

‘Is there a police for the supernatural world?’

Ava grinned broadly, her eyes lighting up. ‘There is!’

Stiles laughed and shared a look with Ava. ‘Yeah. They’re not really well known and they used to be almost impossible to get a hold of, but in recent years it’s become a lot easier.’

Danny blinked. ‘Oh. Okay. Can they help us in this situation?’

‘I have a feeling that they may already be.’ Lydia said with pursed lips, but her eyes were smiling. ‘But what I want to know is how you all found that vampire last night.’

‘Oh.’ Danny smiled embarrassed. ‘That was me.’

Stiles, Lydia and Noah stared at him.

‘How did you find them?’ Ava asked, as if it was completely natural to find vampires. It was not. Stiles knew first-hand how hard it could be to track them down. Was this why Danny seemed to so okay with the supernatural, was he actually one of them?

‘I triangulated all the murders, cross referenced with abandoned buildings, recently vacated houses or houses let out just before the murders started.’

Stiles felt like an idiot, Danny was not supernatural, he’d just used what he was good at to search for them. He should have known; Danny could find anything on the internet.

‘And it led you there?’ Lydia narrowed her eyes at him, but her gaze was more thoughtful and calculating, wondering how they could utilize Danny, rather than disbelief or condescension.

‘Not exactly. There were a few places it could have been. Populated areas were ruled out, people would notice if their neighbours were only coming out at night or if ten people were living in a house meant for four. That area was fourth on our list.’

‘Where were the other areas?’ Noah asked, smiling at Danny. 

Stiles noticed that his dad’s eyes were bright with anticipation as he pulled a map of the area out of a drawer and laid it out on the table for them all to see. Stiles knew what his dad was feeling, that warm feeling that sits in your chest when you’re included and able to help.

‘We had eleven areas in total.’ Danny pointed them all out. Stiles dug around for a pen so they could mark the area.

‘It’s best to check them out in the daytime when they’re at their weakest.’ Ava said standing up. Stiles nodded absently as he circled the areas.

Danny looked up at her, his eyes wide. ‘You want to go now? Without any werewolves?’

Ava smiled in amusement. ‘Did I not prove last night that I can kill a vampire?’

‘Yeah, one vampire. Derek said there were ten!’

‘Would you feel better calling Derek and Isaac to come with us?’

‘Yes!’ Danny exclaimed before he sighed. ‘Isaacs working though, he won’t finish for another few hours.’

‘We’re not waiting that long. Call Derek, have him meet us here.’ Lydia said pointing to a central location on the map.

‘I’ll call Melissa.’ Stiles said, his phone already in his hand.

Noah glared at him. ‘I do not need a babysitter!’

‘Of course you don’t.’ Lydia replied nonchalantly while Stiles just raised his eyebrow.

Noah groaned. ‘I expect meat for dinner. Red meat. And she’s working.’

Stiles glared at his dad’s triumphant look and cancelled the call, texting her instead. ‘She can still come for dinner. And keep your phone on you. You call me if you need anything. And I mean anything!’ He narrowed his eyes as his dad just shrugged and nodded, still looking smug and pleased.

‘This was where they were staying.’ Derek said with a blank face. Stiles was surprised he hadn’t growled the words and glared the building into submission and giving up its secrets. But even though his body posture was tense, he was still more relaxed than he’d been when they’d first met or even ten years ago. Stiles had to admit that even nine years ago, when he’d bust his toe and Derek had carried him from that building, he’d been more settled within himself, but nothing to the degree that he was now. Stiles was finding it hard to read him. He knew what all of his tense postures meant and how to read his eyebrows, but a relaxed Derek? Stiles didn’t know how to read a relaxed Derek.

Ava nodded as she glanced around the room. The windows were covered with heavy cloth rather than blacked out.

‘They’ve moved on.’

‘What does that mean?’ Danny asked easily.

Ava shrugged. ‘I doubt they’ve moved on from Beacon Hills even though they lost one of their own. They liked it here, planned on staying.’

‘How can you tell?’ Derek asked, glancing around the almost empty room suspiciously.

It was certainly a change, Derek asking questions and not glaring or growling. It was disconcerting but he wholeheartedly approved. Derek had changed and for the better but it didn’t mean that Stiles had to like how he no longer knew him so well.

Stiles smiled sadly. ‘They were making this place into a home. Curtains rather than blacked out or boarded up windows. Everything is clean and tidy.’

‘But there’s barely anything here?’ Danny frowned.

‘They probably took it with them when they moved on early this morning.’ Ava pointed to a couple of areas. ‘You can see where they had furniture.’

‘But why?’

‘They must have been worried when their friend I killed didn’t come home. They’ll have found another place to stay. But now that they know we’re on to them, they may keep moving around.’

‘We only found this place last time because it was near to all the murders.’

‘We are not waiting for more murders.’ Lydia raised a superior eyebrow.

‘Then we go hunting.’ Ava grinned.

‘How do we hunt them?’

‘That is a very good question.’ Ava sighed. ‘Vampires have a very unusual scent in that it is dull and easily masked making it hard for werewolves to track. Technically they don’t have a scent because what you are smelling is the blood of their most recent victim. They only go out at night as sunlight will kill them as will a stake to the heart. Garlic is a myth, but they are incredibly fast.’

‘So, we kill them with a stake to the heart?’

‘It’s one of the ways and you have to be quick and have a stake made out of a certain type of wood and under certain conditions. But vampires are quicker, quicker than werewolves. There are other ways to kill them.’

_Or you know a spark with the power to believe._ Ava sang in his head.

_Shut up._ Stiles glared at her.

‘What type of wood?’

‘Beech, teak or walnut, but it needs to be made in a special way. You can’t just use any old twig from a beech tree. Having it blessed by a priest or priestess is best, but dipped in holy water and consecrated will also work.’

‘What are the other ways to kill them?’ Danny asked.

‘Sunlight.’ Derek answered.

‘Yes, trap them with sunlight. Also drain them of blood. Just like people, they need blood to survive.’

‘They fed only a couple days ago, they will not need to feed for another. According to Noah’s files, they fed every seven to ten days.’

‘We need to do some research.’ Lydia sighed. ‘Did you buy coffee to go in that coffee machine?’

Ava and Stiles grimaced at each other. He should have known he was forgetting something important, but Malia had completely thrown him.

‘We’ll need to pick up the Sheriff some red meat anyway, anyone any objections to steak?’

‘As long as it’s Stiles cooking it.’ Lydia said, her heels clicking against the wooden floorboards as she left.

‘Hey!’ Ava shouted indignantly.

‘You did burn water.’ Stiles reminded her. It was something he never let her live down. She was actually a really good cook, but for someone without an attention disorder, she got distracted a lot.

She glared at him. ‘It’s water, I didn’t hurt it.’

‘What about the eggs?’

She winced. ‘I forgot about them!’

‘For an hour!’

‘Fine. But I cook just fine. You all love my pancakes.’ Ava grumbled. ‘Derek? Danny? Steak okay with you two?’

Danny checked the time. ‘Isaac will be finishing work soon.’

‘Tell him to come over then. Derek?’

Derek looked like a deer caught in headlights. ‘Erm…?’

‘He’s coming,’ Stiles told them with a smile. At least one thing about Derek hadn’t changed, he was still a fish out of water in social situations.

‘What?’ Stiles asked Ava as she stared out the window, lost in her own mind as she tried to figure it out. It was like a riddle and she hadn’t been given all of the words to figure it out yet. 

‘Hmm?’ Ava blinked as she looked around, having lost track of the conversation. Maybe Stiles had a point about her cooking. She found it too easy to be distracted and start doing something else.

Stiles came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, she leant back into him allowing him to ground her.

‘What’s wrong? What are you thinking?’ He asked her, hooking his chin over her shoulder as she linked their fingers together.

‘Why did a coven of vampires, vampires who can’t come out in the sun, move to Beacon Hills California, where there’s so much sun?’ She couldn’t make heads or tails out of it. The vampires shouldn’t have come here. They’d avoided sunny places since the beginning of time, so why now? Why where they here? What had brought them here? Or rather, what had called them here?

Stiles blinked. ‘Huh.’

Ava licked her bottom lip before biting it. She hated not having the answers, a bad personality flaw of usually having the answers. ‘Exactly. Huh.’

‘I don’t understand.’ Isaac said slowly.

‘We’re missing something.’ Lydia said, a worried frown marring her brow. She always caught on the quickest, although Stiles often gave her a run for her money. It was part of why Ava loved them so much.

‘What are we missing?’ Derek asked. 

Now he was a conundrum, nothing at all like how Stiles had described him, except for physically, Stiles had that down perfectly. And she could tell that it was bugging Stiles how much the man had changed, probably because Stiles was struggling to know where he stood with him now.

‘Why did they come here?’ She explained to him.

‘Because its Beacon Hills, nothing good ever happens here.’ Derek grumbled.

She smiled but didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure how he would take to Stiles having told her everything little thing he knew about him. Probably not well, Stiles had also told her how private he was.

‘Why did they come here?’ Melissa asked completely lost.

‘Okay, let’s break it down. What do we know about vampires?’ Noah said, ever the sheriff.

Ava shrugged. She knew quite a lot about them, but not what motivated them. She’d only known a handful of vampires throughout time. And while they were wicked good at card games, best poker face she’d ever come across, she’d never felt the urge to dive into their lives and learn their secrets. ‘How to kill them, how to spot them. What they eat, where they like to dwell.’

‘But you could tell they were settling in, not just passing through.’

Ava nodded. ‘Which doesn’t make sense. Cold and heat doesn’t affect them but sunlight does. So why here?’

She didn’t want to admit just yet that she was also wondering why now? Why now when Stiles returned for the first time in almost a decade? She didn’t think it was a coincidence, there was chance that it was, but she doubted it. But was it a coincidence that she was with him? Was this all by someone’s or something’s design?

She didn’t believe in fate, knew that the future wasn’t set in stone, that it was always changing, but she did believe in destiny. If something was meant to be, then it would find a way, but choice counted for a lot. Destiny would know that Stiles would always choose to come back here for his father. But why would Stiles be called back here to deal with vampires? There was a bigger picture here that she was missing. Had whatever called the vampires here, also called Stiles here? Or at least orchestrated his return? After all, if Noah had been killed, her and Stiles would have already left, returning only for his funeral and to pack up the house.

‘We need to research.’ Lydia sighed. She glanced to Ava. ‘Any chance of access to your library?’

Ava grimaced and shook her head. There was no way she was letting this many people into her personal library. Well, her only library, but still, only Stiles and Lydia had ever been in there and she kept it a closely guarded secret. ‘No, but I can bring the books here.’

‘We’ll eat first.’ Lydia decided.

‘Gee, thanks.’ Ava said dryly but threw Lydia a smile, earning a ladylike snort in reply.


	8. Chapter 8

‘So, how many are there in Scott’s pack?’ Noah asked seeing this as his opportunity to pry. Also it might take Stiles’ attention off of what he was eating and allow him to sneak a few more unhealthy things onto his plate and into his mouth before Stiles saw.

He saw Melissa’s interested look and knew that while she wouldn't admit it to him, she wanted to know as well, by keeping her away from the supernatural, Scott had inadvertently pushed her away as well. It was like they were taking it in turns, when Melissa had found out about Scott being a werewolf and Noah had been in the dark about it, his relationship with Stiles had struggled. And now that him and Stiles had promised no more secrets between them and his relationship with Stiles was the strongest it had ever been, Melissa’s and Scott’s was floundering. Noah may have his issues with Scott, but he was still Melissa’s son. And as much as he currently hated him for hurting his boy, he would never not help.

Derek frowned as he paused in cutting up his steak. ‘You don’t know?’

Noah shook his head, he wondered about lying but didn’t see the point. He knew they would pick up on his lies instantly and anyway, they didn’t seem to be big fans of Scott so there shouldn’t be any reason to keep it from them. ‘Scott doesn’t like me involved.’

‘There’s twelve.’ Isaac supplied happily as he popped some potato salad into his mouth. Stiles had completely vetoed having chips but had relented with the potato salad, even though the chips would probably have been healthier, what with the mayonnaise that had gone into it.

‘Three more than were at the picnic.’ Stiles mused. Noah recognised his son’s thinking face and could easily guess he was trying to figure out who.

Isaac nodded. ‘Joanna and Ben weren’t there. Neither was Theo and while Peter wasn’t there, Scott doesn’t actually classify him as pack but pack adjacent.’

‘Pack adjacent?’ Noah heard Ava echoing his thoughts. He quickly shovelled some more steak into his mouth and chewed furiously while giving himself a large helping of the potatoes. He had plenty of questions over that revelation, but he had plenty of time to ask them, he didn’t have plenty of time to shove whatever food he could grab into his mouth.

‘Yeah, he refuses to take responsibility for Peter so anything he does is on his own back. If he pisses the wrong person off, it doesn’t come back onto Scott.’

‘Makes sense.’ Stiles shrugged, eyeing Noah’s plate. ‘Peter always was a law unto himself.’

Noah sighed and accepted the salad Stiles heaped onto his plate and nodded at his son’s glare. He knew he was pushing it.

Derek snorted. ‘Yeah and the rest.’

‘But if he schmoozes the right person, it also doesn’t benefit Scott.’ Ava mused.

Noah saw the raised eyebrows that his son and Derek exchanged and wondered just what that was about. From what he’d been told, Peter was a mental case.

‘He’s still got that idiot Theo as pack?’ Lydia asked astonished. Noah mentally thanked her for asking that question as he surreptitiously grabbed some more steak. ‘Has he not tried to kill Scott again?’

‘Woah, woah, woah.’ Melissa asked astonished. 

Noah could understand, if it was him and Stiles, he would have demanded that Stiles throw that pretentious arsehole out on his own and refuse to have anything to do with him. No matter what he did to redeem himself, it wouldn’t ever have been enough in Noah’s eyes. And Noah knew that Melissa was more like that as well. Neither of them knew where Scott got his black and white morals from, but it certainly wasn’t his mother. Nor was it from Raphael, his morals were dubious at best. 

‘What? Theo is pack? The bastard that murdered him?’ Melissa said angrily, staring at Isaac.

Isaac froze, looking terrified. ‘Erm…’

Noah watched in fascination as Derek rubbed Isaac’s back and Danny slotted his hand seamlessly into his boyfriends and Isaac slowly began to relax. 

Melissa was too worked up on her son’s behalf to notice. 

Noah may not like Scott anymore but he understood, once a parent, always a parent. He wanted to place his hands on her shoulder, help calm her down, but he was stuck in this damn chair with a broken leg and a broken arm feeling completely useless. ‘Melissa, I’m sure Scott knows what he’s doing.’

There were several snorts at his blatant lie but he didn’t even think Melissa had heard him.

‘What the hell is that son of mine thinking!’ Melissa demanded, not seeming to realise the panic she’d sent Isaac into. 

He reached over to her, thanking the fact that she’d sat next to him and placed his good hand over hers, finally getting her attention. ‘He’ll have had his reasons.’

‘Yeah.’ Melissa said, her eyes fiery with rage. ‘Stupid ones!’

‘David’s sweet on Stacey.’ Danny said, taking the attention away from Isaac who was shaking slightly, not noticeably if you weren’t looking for it, but Noah was trained in these sorts of things.

‘Whose David?’ Stiles asked, acting oblivious as to what was going on with Isaac, but Noah knew his son and he watched proudly as between Danny and Stiles they diverted attention away from Isaac so that Derek could help him regain control while Melissa muttered about her idiot son, keeping a tight grip on his hand.

Noah wondered what had set him off, it had been years since Isaac’s dad had died. And from what Stiles had told him, after the bite Isaac had been an arsehole and a smartass, but he’d never shown weakness. Not like this. The only thing Noah could think of, was that it was a combination of Melissa being a mother figure to him and her anger. After all, his father’s anger had never ended well for him.

‘You ready to get the books?’ Lydia asked Ava pointedly once dinner had all been cleared away, and while Stiles was still muttering loudly about his dad’s health.

It surprised Derek, the things he’d missed. It seemed he’d also missed Stiles complaining about Noah’s health and monitoring what he ate. He took a breath, knowing that he had to stop thinking like this, Stiles was with Ava. Stiles was happy. Even if he couldn’t scent Stiles, and he didn’t have answers for that, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Stiles loved Ava and was happy with her. He was also absolutely positive that Ava was not controlling Stiles. He was acting out of his own free will.

Ava grinned and rolled her eyes. ‘So impatient.’ 

Derek watched as she wiggled her shoulders, closed her eyes, breathed in slowly and deeply and opened her eyes as she breathed out. Her eyes, which were a soft forest green, were now silver, and as they all watched, books suddenly began materialising on every available surface.

‘Seriously?’ Lydia complained as she looked around. ‘I wasn’t expecting this many.’

‘Oh my God!’ Melissa said staring around the room, her eyes wide, as she stood in the sheer amount of books that were now crowding the room.

Derek, along with Danny and Isaac, were all staring at Ava with what he presumed to be the same gobsmacked expressions on their faces. He had never seen magic such as this done before.

Ava shrugged but smiled serenely. ‘These all have something about vampires mentioned in them.’

‘Mentioned? So there could just be one single line written about vampires in the entire book?’ Stiles asked, looking around horrified.

Ava’s eyes twinkled at him as she slowly smirked.

Stiles groaned.

‘Well, no time like the present.’ Lydia said decisively, picking up the largest one nearest to her.

Melissa nodded and passed a book to Noah before settling herself down with another one. ‘It will take less time with all of us chipping in.’

‘Guys, this is going to take us days.’ Danny said.

‘Might as well get comfy then, we’re gonna be spending a lot of time with each other.’ Stiles grinned, catching Derek’s eye and offering him a book.

Derek was surprised when Stiles sat himself down next to him, it was a nice feeling and even though Ava had set herself down on the side of them, it didn’t feel awkward in the slightest. And no matter how many times Stiles finished a book and got up to get another, he didn’t change places and neither did Derek. Although Derek did get a smile every time one of them got another book. He didn’t want to admit how good it felt and give himself false hope, especially with Ava there with them but he was relishing being in his company.

‘Urgh.’ Danny complained after several hours. ‘I know more than I ever wanted to about vampires and nothing about their living situations.’

‘One of the books I read said they didn’t like change.’ Lydia mused, flicking a page over.

‘Which wouldn’t explain why they moved here then.’ Stiles grumbled, his eyes never leaving the book he was reading.

‘No, but it backs up the theory that there is a reason why they moved here if they don’t like change.’ Ava agreed from her place on the other side of Stiles. ‘I read an account that vampires, once settled in an area, rarely leave. I mean the vampires in London have lived there for centuries.’

‘Vampires in London?’ Isaac asked faintly. 

Derek remembered he’d lived there for a while, and had even stayed with Jackson for a bit before him and Ethan had moved back to the states. While Isaac had come into contact with a few other wolves and the odd witch, he hadn’t met any other supernaturals.

Ava nodded, either unknowing or unworried of Isaac’s shock. ‘Ummhmm. They live in the old tunnels underneath the city. It’s one of the biggest vampire settlements going. Most cities have any number of supernaturals living there at one time but they do so in harmony.’

‘Vampires settlements?’

‘You only get them in the big cities where it’s easy for them to hide and for bodies to go missing. Nobody misses a homeless person.’

‘Lots of bodies to go missing.’ Stiles agreed with her, glancing at Derek, and giving him a quick smile before looking back down at his book. ‘Bodies that people won’t look for or notice have gone. Along with places to hide or dispose of the bodies. And in cities, no one is suspicious if their neighbour is nocturnal and no one notices if they never see their neighbour buying food, too wrapped up in their own lives. And have you noticed, no one ever makes eye contact in cities? I mean why not? What’s so wrong with looking a complete stranger in the eyes? You’re not going to spontaneously combust!’

Derek felt something in him ease as Stiles continued speaking. He’d noticed before that he didn’t speak as much as he used to, but it was now feeling as if he only spoke like that when he was relaxed and he rejoiced in the fact that Stiles seemed to be relaxed and at ease around him.

‘This book I’m reading is saying it takes months to create a new vampire.’ Lydia enquired, ignoring Stiles’ rant, as she placed the book in her lap, still open to the page she was reading.

‘Yeah it’s a long drawn out process.’ Ava agreed absently, flicking onto the next page in her book. ‘Why is why, with today’s technology, it’s rare for vampires to go to the effort of changing someone. It was a lot easier for them when you couldn’t track people through the internet. But it still does happen, they’re just a lot pickier about who they turn.’

Lydia blinked but nodded. ‘Makes sense.’

‘That’s…’ Noah paused, looking a mixture of grossed out and relieved. ‘Oddly reassuring.’

Melissa nodded her agreement beside him, she looked like she was enjoying her book. It must be a lot more interesting than the one he was reading, which so far, didn’t have anything about vampires in it.

Stiles snapped his book shut and flashed Derek another smile as he got up to replace the book he’d finished with one that hadn’t been read. He could feel Stiles’ eyes on him as he returned and realised as he turned the page that he hadn’t taken anything in and had to go back a page.

Derek took a breath as he tried to distract himself from how good Stiles looked. He really couldn’t be thinking like that, especially as he wasn’t the only wolf in the room. And Isaac knew exactly what Stiles was to him. But Stiles was with Ava, and from everything he’d seen so far, they loved each other very much. They looked so good together, Derek couldn’t deny that, nor could he deny that Stiles looked to Ava a lot, but for reassurance, her presence seemed to calm him. But that didn’t seem to stop Stiles from continuously glancing at him. If Derek hadn’t known that Stiles was with Ava, which was obvious with all the casual touching they did, he would have thought he was in with a chance. But he knew better. Stiles and Ava were very much an item and he was one hundred percent positive that Scott was wrong about Ava controlling Stiles.

‘You’re staring at me.’ Derek said quietly without looking up from his book, trying not to gain everyone’s attention.

Stiles grinned and shrugged. ‘Yeah, well. You’re different now.’

Derek frowned, surprised that Stiles owned up to it so easily. He marked his spot and looked up, accidentally staring straight into Stiles' eyes. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You’re…’ Stiles paused. ‘Calmer, happier. It suits you.’

Well, that certainly explained all the looks. Stiles had always been curious, at one point Derek had been certain that his curiosity would have gotten him killed. He had no idea how Stiles had survived with that sarcastic mouth of his. Although Derek had noticed how subdued Stiles was compared to when he was in high school, he did get his old spark back around Ava, Lydia and his father.

‘Do you think authors and writers do this much research? I mean, I don’t see how they could with how many supernatural books and shows there are and just how wrong they all seem to have got it. I mean Jesus!’ Stiles said, his eyes glued to the book he was reading. ‘How did people come up with garlic being lethal for vampires? I mean seriously, garlic? Why not vinegar? Or peppers? Or apples?’

‘Apples have been done.’ Ava reminded him, nudging his shoulder.

Stiles scoffed. ‘Oh please, not the Garden of Eden!’

Ava grinned at him, taking her eyes off her book for a second to glance at him.

Stiles groaned. ‘No! Oh God! That’s awful. So if it’s been used once, it can’t be used again?’

Ava laughed.

‘But come on, apples would have made more sense than garlic, I mean, they were the forbidden fruit! But garlic? What special properties does garlic have?’

‘Lots.’ Lydia piped up without pausing in her reading, apparently used to Stiles’ rants.

‘I suppose, they are great for your health, they’ve got antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Garlic can also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, all along with tasting delicious, but why make up that they’re lethal to vampires?’

‘Some wife in the middle ages probably hated garlic when her husband loved it so he made up that they warded off vampires to get his own way.’ Ava mused.

Stiles opened his mouth to answer, half closed it and frowned. ‘Now that makes total sense.’

‘I agree. Men always manipulate women to get their own way.’ Lydia mused.

In Derek’s opinion, that monopoly wasn’t just taken by men. Both sexes could be master manipulators, it depended on the person. Gender didn’t play into it.

Stiles snorted. ‘Lydia, my Goddess, did I ever manipulate you?’

Lydia looked up at him, smiling sweetly. ‘No. Not once.’

‘Not all men are total arseholes.’ Ava agreed. ‘Same with women.’

Derek snorted in agreement, then felt himself turn pink when everyone’s eyes turned to him. He cleared his throat. ‘Well said.’

Ava chuckled, then throwing her book down, she stretched, groaning loudly before flopping herself over Stiles. Derek had to avert his eyes and take a slow and measured breath. He glanced at Noah who was acting as if this was normal behaviour. Derek realised it probably was, but it didn’t stop him from feeling as if an Alpha had just punched him in the gut.

‘Sti-iles’ She called, elongating his name as she looked up at him imploringly. ‘I’m bored.’

Stiles chuckled. ‘I thought I was the one with attention deficient disorder?’

‘Right that’s it!’ Lydia stood up, clapping her hands together. 

They’d been doing this for almost twenty hours straight. They’d broken to get some sleep, if only five hours counted as sleep, and breakfast. Isaac had had to leave for work and Melissa had left around lunchtime for the late shift. Otherwise the rest of them had stayed reading, trying to get through as many books as they could. And they’d gotten through a lot, maybe a third, Lydia guessed as she looked around. 

Ava had been sending the books back to her library after they’d been read and decided to be uninformative. There was, unfortunately, a medium sized pile they hadn’t been able to decide if the information was something they might need at a later date. Medium sized in comparison to the amount of books they’d had to go through and unfortunately they still had a lot more to go.

If she stared at another book or page in the next five minutes she would scream. It might not be her banshee scream, but she would still scream. ‘We need a night off. No more books until tomorrow.’

Stiles groaned but agreed as he stretched out. ‘Never thought I’d hear you say that. Or agree.’

Danny glanced at his watch. ‘Isaac will be finishing school in an hour. It would be nice to have a night with him. We could go out for a meal, I don’t think I have time to go shopping and cook something.’

‘Good. You two deserve a romantic night together.’ Lydia agreed. Personally, she’d rather have a night in and relax without a single book in sight, but she had a plan and she was determined to see it through. ‘I saw a lovely Italian place the other night but you need reservations. You go do that. What do the rest of you want to do? We could go out somewhere?’

‘I should get home and water my plants.’ Derek said, standing up. 

She glared at him. This was not what she was wanting. She’d been watching Stiles and Derek flirt the entire day, but both were too terrified to act on anything. Stiles she could kind of understand, after what he’d been through, but that had been years ago and she knew he now had a reputation with both men and women. Everyone, always and without fail, had a good time, but Stiles wasn’t one for commitment. She’d been his last long-term relationship. And it was time for that to change.

She was just about to protest when Stiles interrupted her. In order for her plan to work, Derek had to be there. How else would she get the two of them together if he wasn’t there?

‘You have plants?!’ Stiles was staring at him, but his stare was a lot further south of Derek’s face. Namely, Lydia noticed, at the bare patch of skin that rode up as Derek stretched his shoulders out. 

Derek glared. ‘Yes Stiles, I have plants! I have a whole garden too.’

Stiles grinned at him. ‘Let me guess, you do the weeding shirtless.’

Derek glared but refused to answer.

Lydia snorted. ‘You did do everything shirtless Derek.’

‘Wolves run hotter.’ Derek grumbled, the tips of his ears turning pinking.

Lydia grinned triumphantly. Her plan for a night out may be ruined, but she was fine with that now. Now that she knew that Derek definitely had feelings for Stiles. Now she just had to plan how the hell she was going to get two of the most stubborn people she had ever met to admit their feelings for each other. Or to act on said feelings, she wasn’t fussy.

Nor was she a genius for nothing.

‘Well, I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the view.’ Lydia smiled at him while he shuffled around not knowing what to do or how to act to her statement.

Noah snorted. ‘Leave the poor boy alone and let him go tend to his plants.’

Derek ducked his head. ‘Thanks Sheriff.’

‘You call me Noah, son.’

Lydia hid her smile as Derek’s pink ear tips turned red.

‘Hey babe, you on your way home?’ Scott answered Malia’s call on the second ring. She knew that some people complained that Scott didn’t answer his phone or return their calls, but he always did with her. And at the moment she was eternally grateful for that. 

Everything had quietened down since the vampire had been killed and Scott had decided that the Sheriff had been wrong about it being a coven. That only that one vampire had committed the murders. While Malia didn’t think that Stiles would have gotten it wrong, she could understand the logic behind Scott’s reasoning. And it had been a couple of days since Ava had killed that vampire and nothing had come of it. Surely if there had been a coven, they would have retaliated by now?

‘I’ve got a trail on the vampires.’ Malia said forgoing any greeting. She’d caught a faint and familiar scent but had been unable to place it, so had slowly followed it. It had only just hit her what that scent was and why it was so familiar.

‘Where are you?’ Scott instantly demanded. She could feel his eyes flashing Alpha red wherever he was.

‘Near the new development. I smelt something familiar so I followed it. I’m positive it’s one of the victims.’ She explained. Since the revelation of the murders being caused by vampires, Malia had gone back to the morgue with Stacey to reacquaint herself with the scent of the latest victim. Unfortunately, Scott’s theory of it being a lone vampire was completely wrong.

‘Stay there, I’ll call the pack and we’ll come meet you.’

‘Hurry up. After seeing how easily that vampire tossed Liam aside, we’ll need everyone.’ Malia told him as she warily eyed her surroundings. Because the scent was faint, she had no idea how fresh it was or how near they might be. For all she knew they could be listening to her right now.

‘I’m on my way. I’ll call Isaac as well.’

‘We should call Derek too.’ She said anxiously as a leaf rustled in the trees. She peered over there but couldn’t see anything. She knew it was probably just an animal, or maybe the wind, but her instincts were in overdrive, although that could be contributed to the full moon that was currently shining down on her.

‘We don’t need him.’ Scott snarled down the phone.

‘He’s a born wolf, he has a better nose.’ Malia argued, snapping back at him. She didn’t have time for him act all macho.

‘So are you, and you’re the best we have. We don’t need him.’

Malia sighed as she was left listening to a dial tone. She debated calling Derek, going against Scott’s direct order, but knew that Scott would be furious with her, and to be fair, Scott did have a point. She was excellent at tracking. And while the vampire may have been able to throw Liam into a wall and knock him unconscious, all that proved was that they were strong. But so were werewolves. Stiles’ girlfriend had managed to kill one without even getting scratched and she shifted into a werewolf to do so, so chances were, werewolves could take down vampires. And it wasn’t worth pissing Scott off just because she’d feel better having Derek there fighting with them.

  


‘Kira!’ Stiles stared at the kitsune in shock. Of all the places to bump into her, the cafe that sold the best pastries in Beacon Hills was not it. Lydia had suddenly backtracked on her idea to go out after Derek and Danny bailed and instead insisted on a night in but with take-away, banning everyone from the kitchen. ‘You’re back! You’re here! You’re actually in Beacon Hills! Both of us are!’

‘Hi Stiles.’ She smiled hesitantly but it didn’t stop Stiles from throwing his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. He didn’t know what had compelled him to do so, but feeling her hug him back just as fiercely made him pleased he had done so.

‘Oh my God! It is so good to see you!’ He rushed, not ready to let go. Which was a new feeling for him. Maybe being back in Beacon Hills was doing him some good. ‘What happened? When did you get away from the skinwalkers? You are free from the skinwalkers right? Coz I will beat them down if you’re not!’

Kira laughed, happily tucking her arm through his once they’d finished hugging. And even though she’d clearly just brought her pastries, she stayed in line with him. ‘I got away from them a few years ago. I’m in complete control of my powers now and eventually they agreed to let me go. Apparently, I’m part of a bigger picture.’

‘That’s so cool, like, you have a quest?’ Stiles asked excitedly, throwing up his free hand to demonstrate Excalibur and narrowly missed giving a passing customer a black eye.

Kira laughed, her head thrown back, her laugh deep and throaty. ‘I suppose. I’m meant to protect someone. I just don’t know who it is I’m meant to be protecting or how to find them.’

Stiles hummed, impressed. ‘Okay. I get that. That sucks. Can’t be easy, but... Why didn’t you come back? I’m sure the pack would have helped.’

She winced and he felt her tense beside him. ‘I did. I saw Scott.’

Stiles winced as well and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Yeah, we, err, had a falling out.’

‘I’d heard you left.’ She said softly and gently nudged her body into his.

Stiles winced again. ‘That is a long story. But I’m sure your reunion with Scott went better.’

She grimaced. ‘Not really. Apparently Malia was jealous of me hanging around.’

Stiles blinked and turned to stare at her. ‘Malia? Malia Tate? Or Hale? Whatever surname she’s using now. Malia jealous? She doesn’t know what jealous is.’

Kira snorted. ‘She does now.’

‘She was never jealous with me, not even about Lydia. Not even when I got with Lydia.’ He frowned. That made no sense, unless Malia had never really cared for him. Or, more likely, she had never loved him like she did Scott now. Love did make people do stupid things, look at how he’d treated Lydia before they’d become friends. ‘Did she act jealous?’

Kira harrumphed. ‘No, that’s what was so annoying!’

‘Next!’ The cashier called and Stiles quickly reeled off his order before turning back to Kira. ‘Hey come back to the house, everyone will be so pleased to see you!’

‘Everyone?’ Kira asked dubiously.

‘Yeah, well my dads on medical which is why I’m here, and Lydia’s back and hey! You haven’t met Ava yet! You have to come meet Ava, she’s awesome, you’ll love her. They’re a couple streets over getting dinner.’ Stiles grinned, it was a pity everyone else had decided that they’d invaded the Stilinski house long enough and they would give them at least one night to themselves before they came back to hit the books again. But even he’d been getting cabin fever, hence all of them leaving the house to get dinner and desert.

Kira laughed. ‘I’d love to, but I’m meeting a friend for dinner, maybe tomorrow?’

‘Definitely, here give me your number.’ Stiles agreed, grabbing for his phone.

  


‘What the hell Scott?’ Mason whispered, hearing his voice waver. He knew they’d be able to smell his terror but he didn’t want them to hear it in his voice. ‘Why the hell are we going after vampires in the dark on a full fucking moon?’

‘You’re not the only one wondering that.’ Isaac glared at the Alpha. Mason felt for him, it was obvious that Isaac had put Scott up on a pedestal and that he was slowly figuring out that that pedestal was old, crumbling and broken. It hurt to have your dreams shattered. ‘This is too dangerous Scott.’

‘We don’t have a choice.’ Scott sighed. ‘This is the first lead we’ve had on them and they’ve killed seven people.’

Mason bit his tongue, Scott did have a choice and he was making the wrong one. He would follow his alpha anywhere, but even he knew it was wrong, that he and Corey shouldn’t be here. It was selfish of him, but he still knew that they would be a liability. It may have been a decade, but Scott was still too used to having Stiles by his side, insisting on joining him in every battle. Stiles who seemed to have the devil's luck and always found himself on the other side still alive and okay.

‘Where’s Derek?’ Isaac asked, crossing his arms.

‘We don’t need him.’ Scott dismissed.

Isaac stared at him in disappointment. ‘Yes we do.’

‘No. What we need to do is follow this scent and kill these vampires.’ Scott dictated, his eyes flashing Alpha red. 

Mason knew there was no going back now. No one would dare disobey Scott now that he had given an Alpha order.

Liam’s fists clenched and Mason stared at him, begging him with his eyes not to cause a scene. He saw his best friends jaw tense and his head dip a fraction in acknowledgement. He knew Liam would be able to smell his relief, but they’d talk about it later. He didn’t want Liam going against Scott, not for him.

‘How do we kill them?’ Liam asked, seeming not to care, but Mason knew him better than that. He could see him swallow and struggle with the order. 

Liam would do anything to protect him. Mason knew that, even possibly go against his Alpha and Mason did not want that. It took a lot for a beta such as Liam to go against a direct order, especially when he was the Alpha who had bitten him.

‘With great difficulty. They’re a hell of a lot faster, quicker and stronger than us.’ Isaac stated, it was clear his anger was slowly starting to rise. ‘They’re _not_ easy to kill.’

‘That Ava woman killed one, can’t be too hard.’ Scott flashed his Alpha eyes at Isaac, instead of submitting, Isaac flashed his own yellow eyes back. 

Mason sighed, Isaac wasn’t pack, not yet anyway, so he wouldn’t blindly follow Scott’s orders. Isaac was the only one here who had a choice. He couldn’t believe how bull headed and stupid Scott was being.

‘I’ve looked it up.’ Mason quickly interrupted before things started to get out of hand. ‘Isaac is right, they are not easy to kill, not without the right weapons. But we have the right weapons.’ He pulled out a dozen stakes from his bag and handed them out. ‘Stakes made from certain types of wood can kill vampires. Holy water is a myth as is garlic and crosses. Sunlight works but unless we want to wait for sunrise, stakes are our best bet. They are quick, quicker than werewolves, so be careful and be on your guard, you all know what their scent smells like.’

‘Yeah, their last meal.’ Stacey grouched but she frowned at both Mason and Corey. ‘Why are you two here?’

Corey half smiled, half grimaced. ‘Scott called us.’

‘But it’s too dangerous.’ Stacey’s eyes flashed. ‘You have a little girl at home.’

‘We need everyone here Stacey. We can’t do this without them.’ Scott explained.

‘I still think we should call Derek.’ Malia stated, her face grim. 

Secretly Mason agreed. Derek was more experienced than the lot of them being a born werewolf. He was even more experienced than Malia. And from what he remembered was a brilliant fighter. He could definitely help them.

‘Scott, you can’t have Mason and Corey here, it’s too dangerous. We all saw how Ava killed that vampire, she shifted into a wolf and caught her by surprise. Corey and Mason aren’t were’s, they could get killed.’ Isaac tried to explain and Mason wanted to thank him for it but knew to keep quiet.

‘It’s fine Isaac.’ Mason attempted a smile but it failed.

‘They’ll stay at the back of the group, it’ll be fine.’ Scott dismissed.

‘No, Mason and Corey aren’t weres, they should go home to their little girl.’ Liam stated, astounded that this was even an issue.

‘Enough!’ Scott shouted, his eyes flashing Alpha red causing everyone to submit. 

Even Mason flinched and he saw his husband do the same. He stayed quiet, unwilling to cause any antagonism before a fight as Stacey’s lip curled up as she started to snarl but David grabbed her wrist, pulling her back as Scott walked ahead, completely oblivious.

‘We’ll protect them.’ David whispered, he paused then turned to Mason and Corey. ‘Stay behind us, you’ll be our priority.’

Corey squeezed his hand and Mason felt relief flow through him. The pack always looked out for each other.

Isaac nodded, as he realised what was happening. Their voices were too low for Scott to hear. ‘Mine too.’

‘Same here.’ Malia said under her breath, eyeing Scott. Her expression may be hard, but she had the best poker face of anyone Mason knew. He didn’t want to know what was going through her head. Scott was not only her Alpha but also her boyfriend.

  


Jackson smirked and rolled his eyes affectionately as his phone rang the second he took it off airplane mode. ‘How the hell did you know we’ve just landed?’

‘I’m just that good.’ Derek replied, sounding smug and happy.

Jackson laughed and slipped his hand into Ethan’s as they made their way to baggage claim. ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’ve been on edge ever since you got here. They know about us yet?’

‘I haven’t said anything, have you?’

‘Nah, not even to Lydia.’ He trusted Lydia completely, and while he knew she had separated from the McCall pack, and for Stiles of all people, he still didn’t believe that the Scott and Stiles bromance was over. Scott had kicked Stiles out the pack once before and Stiles had still stuck beside him.

‘Does it matter if they find out?’

Jackson sighed. He would never forgive McCall, not knowing what he knows now and having seen what his actions had done to Derek. ‘No, I just hate how they treated you. They don’t deserve to know anything about us.’

‘That was a long time ago. You know they’ll figure it out.’

‘Yeah well, Stilinski isn’t it an idiot. McCall however, you could spell it out to him and he still wouldn’t get it.’ It wasn’t that he was against Stilinski, he just didn’t trust him to not go running back to McCall the second McCall whistled.

‘True. But Stiles wasn’t treated fairly either.’

‘No.’ Jackson sighed and wrinkled up his nose. ‘You found out where the hell he disappeared to after?’

‘No. No one’s mentioned it, so I haven’t either.’

Jackson glared at an innocent bystander. Lydia had refused to tell him, even though him and Ethan had been the only ones to come back and try and track him. Not that Derek had been in any state to, but they hadn’t known that at the time. And Jackson and Ethan had lost Stiles’ trail once they’d found his trashed jeep. Lydia had called him over a year later saying she’d found him. The only details she’d given him was that he’d been in a bad place but was doing better now and thanking him for his help. He’d never heard a word from Stilinski himself.

  


_Stiles, wasn’t Danny having dinner with Isaac?_

_Yeah why? Where exactly are you walking? Are you being a peeping tom? Stay away from windows! You know my dad’s the Sheriff. We’re currently living with him and looking after him. That’s not something easily forgotten!_

_I’ve just found Danny out on the very edge of the forest, outside of McCall’s territory._ Ava ignored Stiles rambles.

_What the hell? It’s a full moon! What’s happened?_

_I’ll find out, can you come pick us up? We’re at a picnic spot by the forest just off the East road._

_On my way. What is he thinking? He should know better! It’s a fucking full moon, is he insane? Oh shit, what if something happened to Isaac? Would you know if there are any hunters in town? Should we check on Isaac as well? Do you want me to swing round their house first?_

_Just come here first Stiles, I’ll let you know if we need to go anywhere else._

_Right. Good thinking. I’m already in the car._

‘Danny? Danny you okay?’ Ava asked, eventually getting his attention. She’d excused herself after dinner, leaving Lydia, Stiles and Noah arguing over something on TV while she went and stretched her legs. It was good to be out in the fresh air after being inside for so long staring at books. Even if they were her books. But she hadn’t expected to come across Danny, alone, on a park bench. ‘Are you okay?’

He smiled sadly. ‘I’m fine. I don’t mean to be rude but I really want to be alone at the moment.’

She stared at him incredulously even though she certainly hadn’t taken any offense. ‘Really? You know about werewolves and you want to be alone on the full moon beside a national park?’

He blinked at her, then glanced around them as if surprised by where they were. He sighed. ‘Damn, that is pretty stupid of me.’

She sat herself down beside him. From the little that she had seen of Danny and from what Lydia and Stiles had told her of him, this was not him. Danny was not stupid. There was something else going on here. ‘And from what I’ve heard you’re not stupid. We can go back into town, sit here in silence, sit here and talk about nothing important or sit here and you can tell an outside perspective what’s wrong. Your choice.’

He smiled sadly. ‘You’re a good person. I don’t want to go back into town.’

She smiled and raised an eyebrow inserting some amusement into her voice. ‘I’m really not, but I love Stiles and Lydia and they care for you.’

He sighed again. ‘It’s Isaac.’

Ava nodded, she had guessed as much but she wanted to encourage him to continue, but he just stared into the woods some more. She had a bad feeling she was about to learn why they kept breaking up. ‘You worried about him overhearing?’

Danny shook his head miserably. ‘He’s with Scott.’

She paused, his voice had broken, was that the reason why they had kept breaking up or was this something else? Danny and Isaac had been planning on having a romantic night, just the two of them. When they’d left earlier that day they’d both been looking forward to it. She looked him over carefully, wondering just what had happened to change that and leave Danny here, alone on the outskirts of the woods, away from Scott’s territory, on a full moon. ‘Is that a problem?’

Danny looked down and used his feet the scuff at the earth. ‘Isaac’s in love with him.’

‘Oh.’ Her eyes widened in surprise. She blinked. The only time she had seen Scott and Isaac together was at the picnic and they had stayed away from each other and with their respective partners. Were Scott and Isaac having an affair? And Danny had found out? She spoke slowly, not wanting to get the wrong idea or put thoughts into Danny’s head. ‘Isn’t he with you though?’

‘Yeah. Scott’s straight.’

Ava nodded. So no affair then. ‘Does Scott know?’

‘No.’

Not quite a love triangle, but still not happily ever after either. ‘Do you love Isaac?’

‘Yeah.’ Danny voice was quiet and she could see the tears in his eyes that he wasn’t letting fall.

‘Does Isaac know that you know?’

Danny shrugged. He sighed again. ‘Yeah. It’s the reason why we’re so on again off again. I don’t know if he still even thinks he’s in love with Scott. He says he isn’t, but he always goes running the second Scott calls.’

‘You know you need to speak to Isaac about this.’ Ava said quietly.

‘I can’t and you can’t say anything!’ Danny said urgently, his head whipping up to hers.

‘I won’t. I promise.’ She immediately reassured him. ‘But if you don’t, your resentment of Scott will fester away and ruin your relationship with Isaac.’

‘I know.’ Danny whispered dejectedly.

‘I’m assuming that you’re here, on this side of town, far away from The McCall boundary because you don’t want to see Isaac tonight?’ There was no way she could leave him here alone.

‘Yeah.’

‘Well then, our ride’s almost here. Come on.’

Danny didn’t look surprised when Stiles drove up a moment later, right next to them and kept the car running as he waited for them to get in.

  


They’d been following the scent for ages. Scott taking the lead with Liam right beside him.

The change in routine had confused Liam at first, Malia was their best tracker, she was usually up here right beside Scott and then him. He was the best fighter, maybe he was equal best with Malia, but he liked to think he was the best fighter. 

And it was only when he caught Mason and Corey’s scent that he realised what Malia was doing. They both smelt relieved.

Mason was his best friend, while Scott may think he was the one who helped with his control and anger issues, he wasn’t. It was Mason. And Liam would never be able to thank him enough for always being there for him. They always had each other’s backs, much like Scott and Stiles had been throughout high school. Liam didn’t know what had happened between them, but he knew he would never be able to let Mason go in the same way Scott had with Stiles. 

He settled into his position as second, maybe without Malia tracking, they’d lose the vampires trail. And even if they didn’t, it seemed that Mason and Corey had four werewolves who were already in defensive positions surrounding them.

Liam relaxed a bit and that was when he heard it. A sigh on the wind that could be mistaken either for a curse or a lover’s endearment.

‘Werewolves.’

They might not have found the vampires, but the vampires had definitely found them. He caught Malia’s eye and she nodded at him. He nodded back.

‘This is my territory and you are trespassing!’ Scott yelled out.

Liam watched as Stacey actually facepalmed.

‘We do not care. We go where we please.’ A female voice echoed back calmly.

Liam glanced around, trying to find the source but couldn’t.

‘Leave Beacon Hills. This town is under our protection!’

There was a laugh from the left. Liam snarled and faced that direction.

‘You’re not doing a very good job, are you?’ A male voice enquired from somewhere to the right of them. 

He whipped around, his eyes scanning the trees.

‘We will move on when we please to.’

‘And we do not please to yet.’

The voices were coming from different directions and Liam couldn’t get a source on any of them.

‘And you will not stop us.’

Liam didn’t see them coming, but the next thing he knew, he was flying backwards and hitting the ground with a thud. Scott roared before attacking. Joanna, Ben and Terry attacking as well as Stacey and David led Corey and Mason away from the fight, Malia and Isaac protecting their backs. Liam snarled and he sprung up and hurled himself at the first vampire he saw.

He missed but caught the shoulder of a different vampire. She didn’t even seem to notice as his claws sliced across her shoulder. A thin line of blood emerging, but not much, not enough to slow her down as she spun out of Ben’s way.

This was not a fair fight. Liam saw that instantly. They were going to lose. But there was no way he was going down without a fight, and he would give Corey and Mason as much time as he could for them to get away.

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for fighting, minor character death and serious injuries.

‘Jackson!’ Danny yelled the second they entered Stiles house. He stared for a second, looking astounded before propelling himself forward.

Stiles shared a worried glance with Ava as Danny threw himself into his best friend’s arms. Ethan was stood beside them, an amused smile on his face. He had no idea what Jackson and Ethan were doing in his home. Or what was going on with Danny. He’d been silent in the car, just staring solemnly out the window. Stiles had put some music on and spent the drive back home chatting with Ava about their neighbours back home. While he had never known Danny to act like this, he’d also not known Danny for the past nine years.

‘Should I be jealous?’ Ethan joked, but he was smiling until the hug went on too long and he suddenly looked worried. ‘Danny?’

‘Danny what’s wrong?’ Jackson frowned, his eyes meeting Ethan’s as it dawned on them that there was something wrong with Danny.

As much as Stiles hated to admit it, Jackson was a good friend to Danny, even if had spent all of their high school years lying to him about the supernatural. But Danny had never seemed to hold it against Jackson, it made Stiles realise that their friendship was a lot more solid and stable than his friendship had been with Scott. It was a sobering realisation.

Lydia raised an eyebrow at Stiles and he shook his head, silently communicating that he would talk to her later. Not that he actually knew much. Ava knew more than him, but she took keeping confidences seriously and would only tell Stiles if Danny told her to, otherwise it was up to Stiles to either find out or ask Danny himself. And now was not the right time to ask Danny.

‘When you leave after the reunion,’ Danny’s voice was shaky but serious as he spoke to Jackson. ‘I’m coming with you.’

Stiles paused and shared an alarmed look with Lydia before staring at Danny again. What the hell had happened tonight? It didn’t take a genius to figure out that something bad had happened, but only a few hours ago they’d been happily planning a romantic night with each other. And now Danny wanted to leave?

Jackson’s eyebrows almost flew off his head. ‘Isaac?’

Danny shook his head, pressing his lips together to stop the tears. ‘He’s staying here. He doesn’t know I’m going yet.’

Stiles wasn’t even sure if Danny had known this before entering the house.

‘Are you two still together?’ Jackson asked, looking thoroughly lost. It seemed that he certainly had not been expecting this.

Danny shook his head and shrugged, tears filling his eyes.

Seeing how overwhelmed Danny was, Stiles did what he did best. He took the attention and diverted it. No one needed a roomful of people staring at you when you were trying to figure out if the relationship you were in was over or not, even if that roomful of people were friends.

‘Jackson?’ Stiles said, deliberately staring at the men in his living room, ignoring the fact that Danny was basically breaking down in his best friends’ arms, while Ethan stood awkwardly beside them. ‘What are you doing in my house?’

‘I invited him.’ Lydia smiled, instantly cottoning on to what he was doing and deliberately moved her gaze from Danny to him.

‘Why?!’ He exclaimed throwing his arms up into the air dramatically.

‘Stiles!’ Noah reprimanded but he was smiling.

‘Don’t worry Stilinski, I’m not staying here.’ Jackson looked down at him disdainfully, while he simultaneously comforted Danny. 

Stiles was impressed he could multitask.

Noah looked relieved.

Stiles smirked. ‘Is my house not good enough for you?’

Jackson snorted but grinned. ‘That’s exactly…’

Stiles spoke over him. ‘Lydia’s staying here, are you saying my house is good enough for Lydia but not you?’

‘Yes Jackson. What exactly are you saying?’ Lydia said icily, her eyes pinning him in place.

Danny snorted and attempted to surreptitiously wipe his eyes. He nudged Jackson with his shoulder who nudged him back.

Stiles beamed. Mission accomplished.

Noah chuckled as he watched them.

‘I can’t believe your dating him.’ Jackson groaned, leaning into Ethan’s embrace who happily wrapped an arm around his waist.

Stiles laughed. ‘Lydia, did you not tell him we broke up like eight years ago.’

Lydia raised an unamused eyebrow at Jackson. ‘I did. I’ve also told him about some of the people I’ve dated over those years.’

Jackson blinked rapidly. ‘I thought you were cheating on him.’

‘Ethan, with your boyfriends’ blasé attitude towards cheating, I’d be worried if I were you.’ Stiles raised an eyebrow at Ethan.

‘Good job I’m not dating you then!’ Jackson snarled. ‘And that’s husband.’

‘Aww, as if you would be so lucky.’ Stiles grinned.

‘Congratulations though Jackson.’ Noah interrupted with a glare at his son. ‘And Ethan.’

‘Shut up Stilinski!’ Jackson muttered before freezing and clearing his throat. ‘Thank you, Sheriff.’

‘Not even five minutes!’ Lydia muttered, scowling. ‘And you’re early.’

‘Wait.’ Stiles held his hands making everyone pause as he looked Lydia. ‘Did you know they were married?’

‘Of course.’ She answered, flicking her hair over her shoulder. ‘I was Jackson’s best woman.’

‘Wait! That’s the wedding that you were best woman at?!’ Stiles demanded, looking at her shocked. 

She’d dragged him around multiple shops looking for the perfect top that also had a fishnet veil covering half her face and matched her dress. It had taken them two days. Two whole days spent trawling through shopping district after shopping district. When he’d asked whose wedding it was, she’d told him not to worry, he wasn’t invited. He’d been relieved at the time, now, he was even more.

Jackson grinned. ‘You don’t think I would get married without inviting Lydia, do you? I’m not that stupid!’

‘Yeah and I like his testicles exactly where they are thank you very much!’ Ethan grinned smugly at him.

‘No! Too much! Too much information! Lalalalalalalalala!’ Stiles stuck his fingers in his ears and closed his eyes until Lydia swatted him over the head.

‘I thought you weren’t arriving until tomorrow?’ Lydia directed her question towards Ethan while Stiles glared at her. 

But her words made him realise they still hadn’t answered his question. ‘What _are_ you two doing here anyway?’

‘You’ve been talking my ear off about Stiles for years, and now that I can actually witness it, you think I’m going to miss that?’ Jackson grumbled, completely ignoring Stiles and almost mumbling his words so that Stiles only just caught the words.

‘Miss what?’ Stiles asked, frowning in confusion.

‘Lydia said there were vampires.’ Ethan answered, practically bouncing in his seat before he winced. Stiles could easily guess that it was Ethan’s idea to come here. ‘Aiden and I saw Deuc kill one once. It wasn’t pretty and his wounds took weeks to heal.’

Stiles shot Lydia an injured look. ‘When did you call them? Why did you call them?’

She rolled her eyes and ignored him.

‘The vampire must have bitten him; their venom is toxic and stops wounds from healing over.’ Ava explained to him.

‘Oh.’ Ethan blinked at her. ‘I didn’t know that. Ethan by the way.’

She shook his hand. ‘Ava.’

‘No way!’ Ethan’s eyes widened in excitement. ‘Lydia’s spoken about you as well!’

‘Really? What has she said?’ Ava’s eyes lit up in interest.

‘How awesome we are, obviously! Which we are, totally awesome.’ Stiles grinned and nudged his shoulder into Ava’s. She laughed and leant against him. ‘Oh, and you will never guess who I ran into earlier!’

Lydia raised an eyebrow, not even bothering to voice her questions.

‘Who?’ Ava asked readily.

‘Do I even care?’ Jackson asked, frowning when Ethan thumped him. 

Stiles hoped it hurt, but he had spent most of his childhood and teenaged years blanking him out, so he turned to the others excitedly, easily ignoring him. ‘Kira!’

‘Kira?’ Lydia repeated shocked. ‘I thought the skinwalkers wouldn’t let her go?’

‘She’s the kitsune?’ Ava asked excitedly. Stiles had told Ava about her, in fact he’d told her about everyone and everything. She hadn’t met many kitsune’s before and had been keen to hear about the two that Stiles had.

‘Hey, if she’s going to the reunion, I could go as her plus one?’ Ethan said suddenly, lighting up.

‘Err, reunion?’ Stiles frowned, wondering what they were talking about. This must be the real reason of why they were here, rather than to see him and Ava deal with some vampires. There was no way that Jackson Whittemore would come back to Beacon Hills just to see Stiles and Ava deal with some vampires. Especially if Ethan had already seen Vampires dealt with before.

‘What reunion?’ Ava asked, also looking lost. Stiles was glad he wasn’t the only one.

‘Fucks sake.’ Lydia sighed, giving Ethan one of her patented death stares while he smiled guiltily at her. She turned to Stiles. ‘It’s our ten-year high school reunion. You are going, Ava is your plus one. No arguments.’

‘But.’ Stiles automatically began. He didn’t want to go to the reunion. There was nothing he could imagine worse. 

He would much prefer to be trapped in hell than go to his high school reunion where Scott would be there, probably giving him his sad puppy-dog eyes because Stiles hadn’t rolled over like a good boy and forgiven Scott for his every transgression. Malia would also be there confusing the hell out of him with all her “I missed you” crap when she had never so much as even attempted to look for him when he needed her. 

Not only that, but he was already remembering the ones who hadn’t made to graduation. The ones whose lives had been unfairly cut short. Yep, hell would be a cake walk in comparison.

‘NO ARGUMENTS.’ Lydia said firmly, glaring him into submission. Damn the woman. She knew all of his weak points.

‘You heard the woman.’ Ava grinned at him. Stiles glared at her sullenly.

‘I’ve already RSVP’d for you.’ 

He sighed, knowing when he was beaten. But he wouldn’t let this go. Lydia would be owing him for years. And if it was awful, like he was anticipating, he knew how to guilt her into doing anything and everything to make it up to him. ‘Fine.’

Lydia blinked. ‘Seriously? I didn’t think it would be that easy.’

Stiles rolled his eyes and picked his phone up. ‘However, I should call Kira and make sure she doesn’t already have a plus one if Ethan’s going as hers.’

‘Yeah, that’s a plan.’ Ethan agreed sheepishly.

‘You have her number?’ Lydia asked surprised.

‘Yeah, we agreed to meet up again. Hey Kira.’ Stiles grinned into his phone as she answered. ‘You got a plus one for the school reunion? Great! Fantastic! You do now! Wanna have lunch tomorrow? I’ll text you the details.’

He hung up and looked around at the others. ‘Kira’s in. So, when is this reunion?’

‘In a couple days.’ Lydia grinned evilly.

Stiles groaned. He now had a couple days to stew and panic while it approached. He really wished he didn’t know anything about it, then he could be happy and relaxed in his ignorant bliss. ‘When were you planning on telling me?’

‘On the evening. I didn’t want you to have any time to freak out over it and bottle out.’

Now that would have been a plan. Ava wrapped her arms around and he burrowed into her embrace ignoring Jackson shocked look. At least Lydia knew him well, it was a pity that Ethan had let the cat out of the bag.

Mason felt the sudden dread curl around him as he heard the blood curdling scream. Malia and Isaac froze before he heard them both let out furious roars. 

He’d been separated from Corey in the fight when he’d tripped over a root, his hand falling from Corey’s grip when he hit the ground. Malia had shoved him back on his feet but David had already dragged Corey further from him in his effort to protect them, with Stacey hot on their heels. Corey had looked back at him, desperation and fear covering his face but he’d nodded at him, conveying to his husband to keep going in that single movement. 

He’d seen Isaac throw himself into the way of the vampire chasing them and knew that if it wasn’t for Malia, David, Stacey and Isaac, both him and Corey would have already been killed. While Corey’s invisibility helped them both immensely, it didn’t hide either of their scents. And it appeared that the vampires didn’t just use their eyes to hunt.

Isaac threw himself forward in the direction the scream had come from, allowing Mason a split-second view before Malia took his place, her back to him, defending him from anything that approached. But that was all it took for him to see the two motionless bodies lying on the ground, covered in blood. Corey and Stacey. He didn’t know where David was, but his gaze was centred on where the bodies were lying. Stacey on top of Corey, still protecting him.

‘No.’ He whispered, staring at Malia’s back. He shook his head, feeling dazed and moved so he could see. ‘No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.’

He felt himself screaming as he pushed forward, past Malia who leapt at the vampire attacking Isaac and rushed towards his husband.

Stacey gurgled and rolled off of Corey, her eyes falling shut but her chest was rising and falling rhythmically as she breathed. 

Corey didn’t move.

Mason fell to his knees, his hands outstretched but not touching. He didn’t know where to touch, where was safe.

He gasped brokenly as Corey’s chest suddenly moved, a small raspy breath being pulled into his husband’s lungs before he stilled again. It broke the spell and Mason pulled Corey’s still body into his arms.

‘Corey! Corey! Come on baby please look at me! Just open your eyes. Please baby, just open your eyes.’ Mason begged as he held his husband’s limp body and rocked back and forth. ‘Please baby, you can do it, I know you can, just open your eyes. For me? Come on Corey, open your eyes.’

‘I thought it was the books.’ Lydia whispered, staring absently. She could feel the urge, tugging at her mind, laying just below the surface, warning her.

‘Lydia?’ It didn’t surprise her that Stiles answered her first. He was always in tune with others, watching out and protecting the ones he cared about.

‘I thought it was the books!’ She looked at him fearfully. 

Ava had spent a lot of time with her, teaching her about her heritage and how to control and harness the power of being a banshee. It was Ava who had told her that while a banshee predicted death, she had only ever predicted a supernatural death, never a mugging gone wrong or a fatal car crash. She could if she wanted to, but she hadn’t. She did however learn how to use her powers to help her loved ones. To allow the whispers to help her predict and avoid accidents involving people she cared about, people she loved. And not just fatal ones.

Ava had taught her how to ground herself and she’d already taught herself how to use her scream to defend and help. How to use the power of it to shatter glass or walls or throw a person away from her. But Ava had taught her how to recognise the signs of an approaching death and how to deal with the scream. How to channel it. How to hold it in and not break down in the middle of a shopping precinct, or an airport, or her work.

‘Thought what was the books?’ 

‘Why I wanted to scream.’ She whispered.

‘How many?’ Ava instantly asked, jumping up and settling in front of her. She slipped her hands into hers and Lydia held on as tight as she could. 

‘Lydia?’ Jackson asked worriedly, reaching forward to touch her. 

The touch grounded her enabling her to respond.

‘More than one. It’s no one I know.’ Lydia said distantly, as she struggled to fight the pull of the scream. It was easier when it was strangers. She had been successfully fighting the urge to scream for years now. She could handle the whispering voices, telling her secrets from the grave that she struggled to decipher. While the urge to scream still threw her, it was different, more powerful if it was someone she loved dying.

‘But it was a supernatural murder?’ Melissa pushed.

Lydia stared around her but it was a struggle to stay focussed. She shouldn’t be here, she should be somewhere else. The urge to move, to follow the pull was strong, but she knew to fight it.

‘Do you know who? Lydia do you know who?’ She could hear Stiles voice but couldn’t figure out how to answer him.

‘She’s looks really out of it.’ She heard Melissa say.

‘She’s trying to figure out where the death was.’ Ava’s voice sounded really far away. ‘Or there’s a stronger connection that we don’t know about.’

‘Like what?’

‘The person dying may be linked to one of us.’

‘The preserve.’ Lydia mumbled. ‘Deep. Deep. Preserve.’

‘Call the others. Call Derek and Isaac.’

‘I’m trying Scott.’

‘Fall back.’ Scott rasped, throwing his head back and howling. It was a howl admitting defeat, telling the survivors to retreat, to regroup, to get to safety. He stumbled away, hearing laughter and running from it.

He froze when he came across a body. A body surrounded by his pack’s blood. He rolled it over, there was too much blood for his senses to pick up who it was. He could smell his pack’s blood. Malia’s blood, the smell of it so potent to him, Stacey’s blood, Corey’s blood, David’s blood, Mason’s blood and even Isaac’s blood. Isaac wasn’t pack yet, but he had bled for them. He had come when Scott had called, he may not have agreed with Scott’s choices, but he had still stayed and fought with them.

He would make a good beta and Scott was keen for him to join. The only hesitation Scott had was Derek, he seemed to hold a lot of sway over Isaac. And that didn’t sit well with Scott. He didn’t like Derek, but Isaac seemed to now have a high regard for him which Scott just couldn’t understand. Isaac hadn’t before, not that Scott had ever witnessed. He’d even left Derek’s pack and moved in with Scott, before leaving Beacon Hills with Chris.

Scott breathed out a choked sigh when he realised the body wasn’t Malia. He took another breath, wincing when he inhaled a stronger scent of blood. So much blood. But it was David’s body. He couldn’t leave him here. He tried to gently pick him up but heard another laugh behind him, closer than before. He roughly threw the body over his shoulder and ran. Ran to the edge of the preserve, holding onto the body thrown across his shoulder, to where they had first gathered, to where Malia had scented the vampires trail, and to where they had all parked and left their cars.

His car was gone. As were a couple others. Liam’s was gone. David’s was still there, understandably really. Stacey’s as well. Isaac’s too, but he was stood leaning against it.

‘Liam’s taken the injured ones to the vets.’ Isaac said, unmoving as he stayed leaning against his car. He looked out of breath.

Scott nodded. Liam worked with him, had qualified the same year Scott had. Luckily, he had different interests to Scott and hated dealing with the clients, concentrating more on medicine and surgery. Scott preferred the more routine day to day consultations and surgeries. He’d know better than Scott how to help the injured.

‘Who was injured?’

‘Corey. Stacey. Terry and Joanna but not as severe. Malia took Corey straight to the hospital.’

‘Mason?’

‘He was with them. Corey’s hurt bad.’

Scott closed his eyes. ‘Shit.’ He took a deep breath and turned to leave. ‘Thanks Isaac.’

‘There was another dead.’ Isaac’s words pulled him up.

‘Who?’

‘Alex.’

He swallowed and nodded, unable to say anything as he headed over to David’s car. 

Alex.

Alex who he had saved nine years ago as a scared kid. Just like he’d been when he’d been turned. Only Alec had never had a best friend like Stiles. Alex who looked up to him and always agreed with him. Alex didn’t deserve this, he didn’t deserve to die like this.

He could feel Isaac’s eyes on him as he opened the door, placed David’s body on the back seat, and headed straight to his work to meet the others.

‘Isaac?’ Derek questioned when he answered his phone but didn’t hear anything. He double checked the screen but it still held Isaac’s name. ‘Isaac are you ok?’

He heard a sniffle. ‘Derek?’

Alarm bells started blaring in his mind. ‘Isaac, where are you?’

‘I’m fine.’ Derek heard his heartbeat skip at the lie. ‘I’m in the preserve. In my car.’

‘What happened?’ Derek was already grabbing his keys and running out the door. This was why he had hesitated so long before agreeing to come here. It was Beacon Hills, and therefore inevitable that something bad would happen and someone would always end up seriously injured. To be honest, he’d been expecting to be the one getting seriously injured. But he wasn’t surprised that it might be Isaac.

‘Didn’t think I was this badly hurt.’ Isaac groaned.

‘I’m coming to get you, is the GPS on on your phone?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Stay with me Isaac, can you tell me what happened?’ He threw himself into his car and gunned the engine, holding his phone out to check Isaac’s GPS coordinates. He knew where that was. Isaac may not be pack, but he was still family. He would always be family. It didn’t matter not being pack, Derek had turned Isaac and they would always have that connection. And since leaving Beacon Hills, they had become friends. Good friends. They may not speak weekly, but they would always have each other’s back. It was while he had eventually agreed to return.

‘Scott called, thought it was a pack meeting.’

‘It wasn’t?’

‘He had a plan to take out the vampires.’

‘What?’ Derek yelled angrily. While he could easily believe Scott’s stupidity, he couldn’t believe that Isaac would have willingly stayed and gone alone with his plan. ‘And you stayed?’

‘He had Corey and Mason there. They have a young daughter.’

Derek blinked, his anger turning to shock and horror. Even when Derek had been newly high on the Alpha power with the desperate need to have his own pack, would have ever allowed humans to fight Vampires, and especially not humans in his pack. Derek held no illusions over how much he had mucked up when he was Alpha, but Isaac had been right, Scott was making worse mistakes and hadn’t learnt a thing from Derek’s terrible decisions as Alpha. ‘Mason’s human! Corey isn’t even a were! He can turn invisible, that’s it! He can’t even hide his scent!’

‘Malia and I protected Mason. Stacey and David tried to protect Corey but they both got hurt.’

‘How bad?’ Derek was almost afraid to ask.

‘David’s dead, so’s Alex but Stacey and Corey were still alive when they left, but neither was conscious. It was bad Derek.’

‘Hold on, I’m almost there.’ Derek screeched around a corner, thankful for the quiet streets and praying that he didn’t meet any cops. He remembered Alex. He’d joined a little while before Derek had left. He’d been a shy quiet kid, terrified of the world he’d found himself in but had looked at Scott, his saviour, as if he’d hung the moon and stars. And it had led to his death.

It took Derek another five minutes to get to Isaac, Isaac’s breathing harsh and laboured as he struggled to maintain any sort of conversation. He spotted Isaac’s car, screeching up to it and slamming to a stop centimeters’ from it.

Derek found Isaac slumped in his car, covered in blood, but that didn’t have to mean anything, not with werewolf healing. It could have been anyone’s blood but it wasn’t. Most of it was Isaac’s, Derek could smell traces of other blood, Malia’s, Corey’s and Stacey’s, a faint trace of Mason’s but they didn’t account for the majority of blood, they were all under a layer of Isaac’s blood.

He was still conscious but barely moving and in a lot of pain. Derek could sense, smell and see the amount of pain he was in. He quickly assessed him, ripping at the clothes to see the injuries, keeping a hand on him to drain the pain. Thick black lines crowding up his arm, but it wasn’t enough, Isaac was in much more pain.

‘They’re not too deep.’ He muttered in relief as he continued searching. Isaac was covered in fur and scratches and even the odd bite, but none were too bad for a werewolf. Not with werewolf healing. Derek watched the wounds for a moment and frowned in alarm.

‘Isaac, why aren’t you healing?’ Derek muttered, more to himself but he was still startled when Isaac answered him. This was not good, this was really not good.

‘Dunno, but I think one of Ava’s books mentioned vampires bite contained a toxin. D’ya think that might be it?’ Isaac’s words were slurring.

Derek blinked at him. ‘I’m calling Stiles.’

  
  


Stacey coughed, trying not to choke on the warm blood filling her mouth. She knew she should be scared. She knew exactly how bad coughing up blood was, what it meant. But she wasn’t.

Joanna, now fully healed, was propping her up, so she could spit the blood out before Liam, once again, tried to stitch her up and Joanna would be forced to hold her down. Even Terry, injured and not healing like her, was on hand to pass Liam instruments. But Terry wasn’t as hurt badly as her, even without werewolf healing Terry would survive. She wouldn’t. She knew it and she knew Liam knew it too. 

She grabbed Liam’s hand as he passed. ‘It’s okay Liam.’ 

He looked at, his eyes round with panic. ‘You’re not healing Stacey, how is this okay?’

She could hear the panic in his voice as well but she still wasn’t scared. Death didn’t scare her, not anymore. She’d seen far worse than to be scared of death. ‘Give me an anaesthetic, then try again. But this isn’t on you Liam.’

‘Stacey…’ His voice trailed off, filled with pain. She watched as he took a deep breath. ‘Anaesthetics won’t work on you, you know this, your metabolism burns it off too quick.’

She smiled. ‘I’m also meant to heal quickly, just give it a try?’

He nodded, his jaw clenching.

She squeezed his hand one more time before letting it slip from her grasp. She was feeling weak, weaker than she had ever felt as a werewolf. She was feeling weak and exhausted, just like she had used to feel, back when she was human and had overworked herself.

She watched Liam prepare everything quickly and efficiently. While patching up people wasn’t in his job description, patching up animals was, and technically she was a werewolf. He’d done it before. Whenever any of them were hurt and the werewolf in them didn’t heal them, Liam did. It was rare but it happened.

She watched numbly as he slid the catheter into her arm, not even feeling the needle. Liam grabbed a syringe and she saw him inject the anaesthetic.

He looked up to her helplessly and she shrugged before her eyes slowly shut and she quickly drifted off.

‘Isaac’s not answering.’ Danny, his face pale as he re-dialled his boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Well, soon to be ex-boyfriend. He didn’t know. They hadn’t parted on good terms tonight, not with Isaac ditching him because Scott had called. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He didn’t want to leave Isaac, he loved him, but he couldn’t stay here.

He wanted Isaac to come with him, but Isaac was settled here. He’d hated subbing, having to move wherever the job took him to. Whereas in the summer, with his photography, he hadn’t minded. Danny couldn’t understand why he just didn’t jack in the teaching job and try photography full time, he made enough money for the both of them. He didn’t mind moving around, but he would also like to settle down in one place, and while Beacon Hills at the time had seemed like a good idea, it was proving to be the end of them.

He could go with Jackson, crash at his place in the city until he figured out where he wanted to go. He could easily rent short term but he had a feeling that he just wanted to hide and lick his wounds for a while until it wasn’t so raw. But he couldn’t stand being put second any longer. He knew Isaac, and he didn’t feel as if Scott was a good fit for him as an Alpha, but Isaac was too blinded by his love for Scott, even though he knew all of Scott’s faults and problems. 

‘It’s just ringing out.’ Danny could hear the waver in his voice as he struggled to keep calm and not jump to conclusions. Lydia had said she didn’t know who it was who had been killed and she knew Isaac. He didn’t know much about banshee’s, just the little that Isaac had told him, that Lydia was one, and predicted death by screaming. 

‘Neither is Derek.’ Stiles muttered, sounding panicked, as he listened to the engaged tone. He started pacing the room, fidgeting constantly as he kept redialling. ‘It’s engaged, he’s on the phone though.’

‘So, Derek’s probably okay.’ Noah said, while Stiles shot Ava and Lydia worried glances.

Ava was still sat in front of Lydia, quietly murmuring to her, waiting for the banshee to come out of her trance. She reached out for Stiles and grabbed his hand as he passed her, tugging him closer.

‘Unless he’s calling for help.’ Stiles murmured distractedly, sounding more worried than panicked, as he rubbed one of Lydia’s shoulders. She blinked. ‘Hey Lyds, you back with us?’

Lydia didn’t reply, just stayed sitting there staring through them as if she was completely alone. Danny had no idea if that was normal or not, but Isaac still wasn’t answering his phone.

‘Isaac has call waiting, it would still ring even if he was on the phone.’ Danny said quietly as he kept trying Isaac. Maybe he could talk Isaac into leaving with him. Into leaving Beacon Hills behind them, or more importantly, leaving Scott McCall behind them.

He watched distractedly as Jackson and Ethan shared a look but Jackson shook his head.

‘Should we go around there?’ Ethan said with a worried look to his husband.

‘I’m sure he’s fine but we’ll check on Derek.’ Jackson said, motioning to him and Ethan. Ethan looked as if he was trying not to look too eager.

‘Isaac was with Scott.’ Danny murmured as he ended his last call and just stared at the phone. It wasn’t Isaac, Lydia didn’t know the person. It wasn’t Isaac. Isaac was fine. He’d probably just left his phone somewhere. He loved Isaac. What had he been thinking? Isaac was fine, he had to be, there was no way that Danny could have been discussing leaving the love of his life while he might be dying. He would never forgive himself if Isaac was dying.

‘He’s not answering either.’ Melissa whispered.

Dread filled Danny even though he knew that wasn’t unusual. Scott never answered his phone unless it was Malia calling him. He stared at his phone, praying for Isaac to call him, to text him, just something.

‘Malia?’ Scott asked, his breathing was still heavy from his run here. He’d picked up her scent the second he entered the hospital and tracked her to the family members waiting room. He could smell that Mason had been here but wasn’t here at the moment.

The fight had been a disaster, he didn’t know what had gone wrong, but the vampires had been quicker and more brutal than he had anticipated. They hadn’t had a chance. By the time he’d realised how badly he had fucked up, it was too late, David and Alex were already dead.

And the vampires were laughing.

They had let them retreat.

Liam had already patched Stacey up but her werewolf healing hadn’t kicked in. The other two, Joanna and Terry weren’t as badly hurt and while Joanna had already healed, Terry, like Stacey, wasn’t. None of them could understand it.

He’d been calling Malia constantly, but she hadn’t answered any of his calls, so he’d left Liam to it and headed over to the hospital. His mind going into overdrive wondering why she wasn’t answering. Was she hurt? But then why would she go to the hospital? And Isaac had said she’d taken Corey here. But why wasn’t she answering? He prayed that Corey hadn’t died, but that still didn’t explain why she wasn’t answering.

Malia’s palm cracked across his face. He stared at her in shock, not quite believing it. He blinked as he realised she was covered in blood. But it wasn’t hers, it smelt like Corey’s.

‘What?’

She nodded. ‘You’re right.’ She formed a fist and he felt his mandible break as she made contact. By the time he hit the ground, the bone had already healed but he stayed down, too shocked by her actions.

‘What the hell were you thinking Scott!?’ She demanded, glaring at him savagely.

Scott had never seen so much contempt and anger in her gaze before. ‘I know! I fucked up!’

‘Fucked up?’ She roared at him. ‘This is not a fuck up Scott! You walked your entire pack into a trap! Mason’s talking to the doctors about his husband’s condition and you call it a fuck up?’

Scott wanted to whimper but he stood his ground. He understood that Malia was mad, so was he, but he needed to know the status of his pack. ‘How is Corey?’

‘Are you serious?’ She snarled her eyes flashing gold at him. ‘His heart stopped! I had to pick him up and run him to the car! Drove him and Mason here, hearing Mason begging and pleading to him to stay with him! Those damn vampires almost tore him to pieces!’

Scott paled. ‘But he’s alive?’

Malia breathed out unsteadily, tears at the corners of her eyes. ‘At the moment.’

‘Guys?’ Sally, a nurse his mum worked with and knew well, poked her head through the door. ‘You need to calm down. Mason’s on his way back here. The last thing he needs is you two arguing. You can’t keep it calm, you’ll be leaving.’

Scott nodded. ‘Thanks Sally. Is Corey...?’

She winced. ‘Sorry Scott, I can say anything to non-family members. I’ll leave that to Mason when he returns.’

‘Hey you.’

Liam could hear the cheerfulness in her voice as she answered the phone and wished he could keep hold of her smile and happiness. She was always bubbly and upbeat and he was about to end that. He hated the fact that he was about to worry and upset her.

‘Natalie?’ His voice sounded dull even to his ears. He stared at the hand that wasn’t holding his phone, it was shaking. Stacey was still asleep behind him. Her metabolism hadn’t burnt the drugs off and Liam didn’t know what scared him more, that she could die or that the vampires had basically rendered all of their werewolf abilities mute. At least Terry could still shift. He’d demanded her to the instant he patched up Stacey and before he’d called Deaton.

Deaton, as per usual, had been cryptic and not given much away apart from yes, a vampire's bite contained a toxin that would stop healing. He hadn’t known it could also stop their metabolism but they had both agreed it made sense. At least he had agreed to return.

‘Liam?’ Natalie instantly sounded worried. ‘What’s wrong? You sound funny.’

‘I need your help.’ He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. ‘We went up against vampires and lost. I’ve called Deaton, he’s on his way back but it will take him a few days.’

‘Shit, vampires? What the hell Liam?’

Liam took another shaky breath. ‘Corey’s hurt bad. Mason hasn’t his left side. I need you.’

‘I’m on my way. I’ll bring everything I can about vampires but I don’t know much about them. I’ll call you once I’m in the car.’

‘Natalie…’ He let his voice trail off. He didn’t know how to tell her. 

He could tell his clients their beloved pet was at the end of the road and it was time, or that there’d been an accident and someone had dropped off their cat or dog and there’d been nothing that he could do. But this was completely different. How the hell could he tell her this? The woman that he’d been dating, that he had only recently told that he loved her? The woman who had been deciding whether to leave her pack that she’d grown up in to be with him. To follow after her brother. The brother who had just died.

‘What?’ She asked, but Liam couldn’t answer her. He heard her sharp intake when she realised the one person she hadn’t asked after. ‘No! David?’

‘I’m so sorry Natalie.’

‘No!’

‘He was protecting Corey.’ He knew that at the moment, those words didn’t help, but later on down the line, the knowledge would.

‘Oh God!’ He could hear her ragged breathing down the phone but didn’t know how to calm her, he wished he was there, that he’d waited to tell her in person, but he couldn’t not tell her. ‘I, I, need to tell my dad.’

‘I’m so sorry Nat.’ He said but she’d already hung up. He had no idea if she was still coming or not. He prayed she was. He needed her. He desperately wanted to go to the hospital and find out for himself what was happening. Mason was texting him updates, but when he’d called had been unable to speak. He hadn’t told him about Stacey, Mason didn’t need that now. He needed to concentrate on his husband. 

His best friend was hurting and he needed to be there for him. Corey was hurt and he meant the world to Mason and by extension, to Liam too. They were good friends. Corey needed to survive and get better, for all their sakes. 

If Corey died, the pack would shatter. Mason would leave, Liam knew he would follow, no matter that it would make him an omega, and he knew that without Mason and Corey, the pack would disintegrate slowly. 

It had after Stiles, Lydia and Derek had left. While Scott had stepped up and into his Alpha role, and he was a good alpha most of the time, Mason and Corey were the ones who had held everyone together, soothing problems and researching, with help from Chris Argent before he too disappeared.

  
  


‘Thank god!’ Stiles exclaimed the second he accepted Derek’s call. He was going to kill Derek the second he saw him for making him worry so much. He couldn’t believe the amount of relief he felt at simply hearing Derek’s voice. He was glad that Jackson and Ethan had already left, otherwise he’d never hear the end of it. Stiles knew that this overwhelming sense of relief meant something, that he shouldn’t have felt this strongly over the possibility that Derek, who he hadn’t even spoken to in nine years before his return, might have been hurt. But he would do what he usually did, ignore it and push the feeling away. Derek had never returned his feelings anyway, so it was pointless to even acknowledge them. ‘Are you okay? Do you know where Isaac is?’

‘Yeah he’s hurt, he’s with me.’ Derek replied instantly. ‘What’s happened?’

‘Lydia wanted to scream. What happened to Isaac?’ Stiles demanded, desperately trying to keep his sentences short and to the point instead of his usual long terror-induced ramble in his relief that Derek at least was okay. But what were the chances that Isaac was hurt and Lydia had wanted to scream at the same time was a coincidence? Not likely. Being the Sheriff’s son had taught him to never believe in coincidence.

‘Scott, what do you think happened?’ He could hear the sarcasm in Derek’s voice and filed that away for him to analyse later, because there would be a lot of analysing going on later not only about Derek being sarcastic, but Derek verbally slamming Scott as well.

‘Is Scott okay? Melissa can’t get hold of him.’ Stiles asked, relieved that he didn’t have to bring up his ex-best friend who seemed to have been going on a streak of bridge burning missions.

‘Yeah, Isaac says Scott’s fine. Heading to the hospital to catch up with Malia. But Isaac isn’t healing.’ 

Stiles absently heard Ava repeating what Derek had said to Melissa. The only thing beta’s struggled to heal from were Alpha wounds, and the only Alpha in the area that Stiles knew about was... ‘What? Why not? Did Scott attack him?’ 

He was thankful when he heard the door slam behind Melissa and hoped she’d been in too much of a rush to hear his words. The last thing he wanted was Melissa worrying if Scott had attacked and hurt Isaac. She had taken Isaac into her house and while he may not have stayed, Melissa still looked on him similar to a son.

‘No, Scott led Isaac and his pack in an attack on the vampires.’ Derek answered and Stiles could hear the rev of an engine in the background.

Stiles breathed out at Derek’s words. At least Scott hadn’t gone insane and started attacking people, but they now had different issues to contend with. There was only one way a werewolf wouldn’t heal from a vampire attack and that was it the vampire had bitten him.

‘Shit, he was bitten. Where are you?’ He knew that while vampire venom wasn’t toxic, it would stop healing in a human and severely affect a werewolf’s healing ability, slowing it down to that of a normal human. And it was painful, excruciatingly painful. He nodded to Ava and she grabbed the keys to their car.

‘I’ll stay with Lydia.’ His dad said quietly and he threw him a grateful glance. Lydia was becoming more responsive but it still took a lot out of her, more emotional than physical but at least his dad would be there to watch over her, even if he wasn’t exactly ambulatory at the moment.

‘Almost at my apartment.’

‘Okay, give me directions.’ He said as they left the house.

  
  


Scott watched as Mason walked back into the room looking shell-shocked. He stood in the doorway for a moment, just standing there until Malia lead him over to a seat.

‘How’s Stacey?’ Mason asked once he was sat down. He sounded empty. Scott couldn’t smell any emotions on him other than shock and fear. He doubted the doctors had given Mason any good news then.

‘Liam’s with her, she’s not healing properly.’ Malia told him gently, holding onto his hand. Scott could see Mason holding onto her tightly and while he wanted to be able to comfort his pack, he knew this was his fault. He had fucked up. He had caused this.

‘Why not?’ He asked almost robotically. 

‘Apparently the vampires got their venom into her, Liam called Deaton, he says it’s slowing her healing.’

Scott tried not to act like that was news. He hadn’t known that Liam had called Deaton, but it was a good decision, he didn’t know that vampire venom could hinder their healing. He just didn’t like his pack being able to go to him instead of him. It was silly and petty he knew, but it had always been his thing to go to Deaton. He knew he should be happy his pack could think on their feet and get the job done. And that was what Liam had done. He would tell him that later, that he had done the right thing and he was proud of him.

‘She tried to save Corey.’ Mason said blankly.

‘I know.’ Malia’s voice was soft and understanding.

‘How is he doing?’ Scott asked trying to emulate Malia and keep his voice down. 

He knew he was to blame for this. He was the one who’d insisted they be there, he was the one who had underestimated the vampires, he was the one who had gotten two of his pack killed and another four seriously injured. Three may be werewolves and one had already recovered while the other two would recover, but Corey? Corey may not be strictly human but he didn’t have their healing powers and was now in hospital.

Corey had a husband and a young daughter waiting for him, needing him to be okay. And Scott had failed them. He hadn’t listened to anyone when they’d told him to not to include Corey and Mason. Corey was only alive because Malia had picked him up and ran. Malia had saved his life while Scott had endangered him.

‘He’s in a coma.’ Mason’s voice was dull and mechanical. ‘His spinal column was compromised. They won’t know till he wakes up, if he wakes up, but it’s doubtful he’ll ever walk again.’


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

  
  


‘Are you okay?’ Stiles demanded the second he saw Derek. He was covered in blood and Stiles could feel himself beginning to panic. Derek couldn’t be hurt. He’d said Isaac was hurt, so why was Derek covered in blood? He’d opened the door to them before they’d even stopped the car. But he’d stayed in the doorway, either because he was too injured to move further or didn’t want anyone seeing him covered in blood in the deserted street. Stiles was praying it wasn’t the former but is fear was getting the best of him. ‘You said you were okay!’

‘Stiles, I’m okay.’ Derek said instantly, a small weak smile appearing on his face, but Stiles could hear the worry in his voice. ‘It’s not my blood.’

‘Isaac’s?’ Stiles asked, instantly hating himself for feeling relieved that it wasn’t Derek’s blood. He didn’t dislike Isaac but he’d never been close to him or really liked him, but he’d also never had anything against him. Isaac had had a shit childhood and Derek had saved him from that. Stiles couldn’t even blame him for trying, and successfully, stealing Scott away from him. Isaac had never had many friends, so Scott had probably been his first, after Erica and Boyd. And they hadn’t really been a pack that long before they’d run, someone yet again deserting Isaac. So no, Stiles couldn’t in all honesty, blame Isaac for stealing Scott away from him. 

But Derek had always been the one who turned up when Stiles invariably ended up in trouble and needed saving. Although Stiles knew that he had done his fair share of saving too. Probably more than his fair share, he had saved everybody at least once. But it had sort of become his and Derek’s thing, showing up to save the other. It was why it had hurt so much that Scott had used Derek to kick him out.

If Scott hadn’t been so oblivious to everything around him apart from the current girl of his desires, Stiles would have thought that Scott had known about his crush on Derek. Even though Stiles had thought he was over that. He’d been dating Lydia back then. But even now, seeing Derek again had been slowly bringing back all those old feeling that he’d been sure where long buried and gone.

‘Jackson?’ Stiles frowned in confusion as he entered Derek’s home to find Jackson and Ethan already there. They were both covered in large spots of blood and Derek had a pink stained rag in his hand. It looked like Jackson and Ethan were holding Isaac still while Derek attempted to clean him up. Stiles knew they had left to find Derek, but he hadn’t realised that they had actually found him. Or so quickly.

‘Why isn’t he healing?’ Jackson demanded, sounding arrogant, but Stiles could see that his posture was defensive and his eyes were wide, as if scared.

He blinked. He never would have thought he would see a scared Jackson. He now wondered how many times when he’d assumed Jackson was being an arrogant arsehole back in high school was because he’d been scared and Stiles hadn’t known the signs to look for. Although he also knew that plenty of times Jackson was being an arrogant arsehole just because he could.

‘The vampires must have bitten him.’ Ava said calmly as she ran a hand down Stiles’ arm as she passed him on her way to inspect Isaac. It helped him take a breath and he calmed and assessed the situation.

Isaac looked awful, he was shirtless and covered in fresh blood and kept gasping in pain each time he moved, but it looked as if he couldn’t keep still. Every time Derek cleaned a cut, fresh blood seemed to spill immediately out of it. None of it was clotting, nor were any of the wounds healing.

‘What do we do?’ Derek immediately demanded.

‘Remove the toxin from his system.’ Ava said calmly as she crouched beside him and inspected the wounds.

‘How?’

‘Leave it to me.’ Ava said, looking pointedly at Stiles.

He nodded and came up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He knelt down, kissing the top of her head as he did so, ignoring Jackson’s surprised look. But he did wonder about the concerned glance he threw Ethan straight after.

_I’ve got you._ Stiles told Ava, not wanting to distract her with asking if she’d seen it too.

_I know._

Stiles had seen Ava do this before, but knew none of the others had ever seen it. It wasn’t all too complicated, not for Ava, but without her it would have been virtually impossible. They’d have to use poultices to entice the poison out of the body which would take days. With Ava, it would only take hours, depending on how much toxin the vampires had gotten into him. Which depended on how many times the vampires had bitten him. But it could be draining, especially if there was a lot of toxin in his body and it looked like the vampires had decided that Isaac made a tasty meal.

  
  


‘Scott Rafeal McCall!’ Melissa shouted, her face furious as she finally caught up with her son. It had taken her a long time to find him and track him down where he wasn’t surrounded and could easily wheedle away. She’d decided to lay in wait at the house he shared with Malia.

‘Mom.’ Scott sighed.

With that heartfelt sigh, as if he didn’t have time for her, Melissa felt her control snap. ‘Yes, Scott. I am your mother. The woman who birthed you, who raised you, who put up with all your crap and dealt with all your supernatural issues. The woman who was there for you when Theo bloody Raeken killed you. Who brought you back when that happened? I did. Your mother. The same mother you’ve been pushing away and giving the brush for one too many times.’

‘Mom, I really don’t have time at the moment. Can we do this later?’

Melissa stared at him shocked. ‘You brush me off once more Scott McCall. It will be the last time you see me.’

‘What?’ Scott frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’m talking about you pushing your best friend away, his father away, your mother away, letting murderers like Theo Raeken into your pack. Refusing to listen to people and then leading your pack into a trap. I was with Lydia tonight when she needed to scream. So tell me, who died?’

Scott paled. ‘Lydia screamed?’

‘No Scott, she didn’t.’

He shrugged, looking slightly confused but not really concerned. ‘I thought she predicted death. Two of my pack died, her banshee powers must be off if she didn’t scream.’

Melissa threw her hands up into the air. ‘You’re not listening to me! Who died Scott?’

‘Alex and David.’

Melissa huffed out a sigh. She didn’t know either of them that well, but that wasn’t really a surprise with how Scott had been keeping his pack at arm’s length from her. But it still didn’t change the fact that two people had lost their lives, two members of Scott’s pack had died, and Scott hadn’t been the one to inform her. ‘And Corey’s in the hospital.’

Scott nodded.

‘Anyone else?’

‘Stacey. Liam’s looking after her.’ Scott sounded resigned.

‘And Theo Raeken?’ Melissa demanded. She didn’t trust Theo as far as she could throw him, which with him being supernatural, she doubted she could even nudge him.

Scott winced. ‘He isn’t here at the moment.’

‘Where is he? Could he have orchestrated all of this?’ It made sense, after everything he had done, could he really be trusted? She didn’t believe so for a second. But if he had done this, then it would have taken planning and time. Maybe not quite a decade of time, but it still would have taken time.

‘What? No! Of course not. Theo is pack.’ Scott stared at her, looking completely shocked at her question.

‘Really?’ Melissa demanded, her eyes spitting fire. She couldn’t believe that Scott was defending the boy who had once caused so much destruction. ‘The man who split up the pack, who made you push your best friend since childhood away and killed you, is pack?’

Scott winced again. ‘It’s not like that.’

‘Really? Then what is it like?’

‘Theo redeemed himself. I trust him now.’

‘You-you trust him now? You trust the man that drove a wedge between you and your best friend, lied to you, tried to get Stiles to be the Nogitsune again and killed you?’

Scott blinked. ‘Wait, how do you know that?’

Melissa ignored him. ‘Did Theo bring the vampires to Beacon Hill’s?’

‘No! Theo isn’t even here, he’s away on pack business! How do you know about the vampires? Did the Sheriff tell you?’

‘Noah told me about the vampires. It would have been nice if someone else who cared about me, like my son, had told me how dangerous it was to go out after dark.’ Melissa glared at him, wondering what had happened to her son. Where had she gone so wrong? She could still see the innocent little boy who struggled to make friends until he came home one day, proudly announcing that he had new best friend. Stiles.

Scott flushed. ‘I didn’t think it was vampires.’

‘And when you saw one killed? What? Thought it was Tinkerbell?’

Scott’s eyes widened. ‘How do you know this?’

‘Because people who actually care about me, tell me things! Important things that I need to know!’

‘I do care about you!’ Scott shouted.

‘Then start acting like it!’ Melissa screamed back at him. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. ‘And start listening to others and stop being so bull-headed.’

Scott sighed, looking resigned. ‘I’m sorry mom.’

‘Now, what happened in the woods?’

Scott’s shoulders slumped forward. She swallowed, it wasn’t easy holding her ground when she could so easily see the pain in Scott’s eyes. ‘It was a trap. The vampires led us into a trap. I got two of my pack killed.’

‘Oh Scott.’ Melissa relented, seeing the tears in his eyes and pulled him into a hug. It didn’t matter how angry or upset she was with him, he was her son and she would always be there for him. No matter how much he screwed up. He was her son, and that was what mother’s did.

‘It’s my fault mom. It’s all my fault. I completely fucked up.’ He hiccupped and shuddered in her arms, tightening his hold on her as he cried into her shoulder. Even with everything that was happening, it was nice to know that Scott would still turn to her for comfort. Even if she had cornered him into doing it.

‘Then you need to apologise and go from there.’ Melissa pulled back and saw the uncertainty on his face. ‘Realise your mistakes and learn from them.’

‘I don’t know how.’ He admitted.

‘Speak to your pack. Ask them for help.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘I can’t expect them to take on this burden.’

‘Scott.’ Melissa sighed. Who had told her son such rubbish and why had he believed them? She had raised him better than that, had taught him better than that. Was this her fault? Had she gone wrong somewhere? She knew she hadn’t been there as much as she should have, but she was a single working mother, if she’d wanted her son clothed and fed, she’d had to work. ‘It is not burdening them. It is trusting your pack, it is sharing a problem and asking for help. There is no weakness in that.’

‘But I fucked up.’

‘They’ll forgive you. Scott, you’re not just their Alpha but their friend.’ Melissa tried to make him understand but wasn’t sure she was succeeding. Nor did she know who she could turn to who Scott would actually listen to. He’d used to listen to Noah, back when he was little and him and Stiles had been as thick as thieves, but those days were long gone now.

‘Some friend. I just got David and Alex killed.’

Melissa sighed. It seemed she was going to have to walk him through this step by step. Someone had really done one over on Scott to get him thinking like this. Was the pressure of being a True Alpha getting to him? Or was it just the pressure of being an Alpha, apart from how the person became an Alpha, Melissa had never seen any difference in the titles. No wonder Derek had struggled. ‘How?’

Scott shrugged. ‘I thought we could take them. I’d seen that woman Stiles was with kill one. It didn’t look hard.’

Melissa sighed again. That she could understand. ‘Ava does make the impossible seem easy.’

Scott gaped at her. ‘You know her?’

‘Of course. I’ve stayed with her and Stiles before.’ Melissa smiled smugly when Scott stared at her in alarm. She knew she’d mentioned Ava in passing to him, not that Scott had ever realised who was talking about. Or that Ava was supernatural. He’d just thought it was good she had friends and ‘hobbies’ and not just him and work. ‘We’re good friends.’

‘Mom she’s dangerous! You have to stay away from her!’

Melissa couldn’t help it, but laughter bubbled up and out of her until her eyes were streaming with tears, but Scott was still staring at her in undisguised horror. He’d been happy enough when he’d thought that Ava was someone her age and completely human with no knowledge of the supernatural.

‘I’m serious mom! Please don’t tell me she’s got you convinced too!’

‘Scott, I’ve known her for years!’ Melissa explained, feeling more than exasperated. She couldn’t understand why he was being so distrustful. Sure, she’d taught him never to just take the word of a stranger, stranger danger and all that, but she also knew he had trusted people he barely knew more than he did his friends. Take one Theo Raeken for instance. ‘She’s not dangerous! Not to me!’

Scott stared at her in horror and backed away, shaking his head. ‘She’s got you too! Just like she has Stiles! Mom, what has she done to you?’

‘What are you talking about?’ Melissa watched in shock as the shutters came down and Scott’s obstinate expression appeared. She recognised it well enough to know that he would no longer listen to what she had to say. He was past the age where she could just ground him until he came around. She didn’t know what she could do now. She just hoped that time would teach him that Ava was on their side, or that maybe someone he trusted would talk some sense into him. But she doubted it. Unfortunately, she knew her son.

  
  


‘Stiles?’ 

Stiles heard his name being called and inwardly cursed. He seriously couldn’t go anywhere in this town without someone wanting to speak to him. And he was so close, he’d already paid and everything and was almost at the door. He put a smile on his face as he wished he’d taken Ava up on her offer to come with him and turned around. He stared in mostly surprise and only a tiny bit of horror. ‘Isaac?’

‘Yeah. Hi.’ Isaac grinned at him, looking slightly shy which was a change from the last time Stiles had seen him, screaming in pain and wolfing out as Ava removed the vampire venom from him. He hadn’t seen him since he’d passed out once all the venom had been removed and his werewolf healing had kicked in. Although his shyness was oddly reminiscent of the first few times they had met, before the werewolf superiority complex had kicked in. 

Danny had come around to help with research while Isaac was at work, but Isaac hadn’t. Stiles got the impression that things were a bit dicey between them. Danny hadn’t been impressed that Isaac had gone back to school teaching the next day.

Stiles had spent yesterday holed up in the house with Ava, Lydia and his dad. Melissa had gone back to work that morning but he hadn’t seen her since which was normal. He knew she’d come over when she wanted some company, she was probably just tired from work. She had called his dad and told her about her confrontation with Scott. It hadn’t sounded pleasant. Lydia had still felt off about her need to scream, not drained but not quite right either, and Ava had been exhausted from healing Isaac, dozing on and off throughout the day.

But this was the first time it was just him and Isaac alone. They had always had others there so Stiles had found it easy to avoid him without anyone catching on. Well, he knew that Ava, Lydia, his dad and Melissa would have been able to see it a mile away, but they knew the reasons for it.

‘Hi.’ Stiles blinked at him again, feeling completely out of his depth. Him and Isaac had never exactly been friends, and then everything with Alison and, well, Stiles never allowed his train of thought to go there. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Yeah, great thanks. I wanted to thank you and Ava for everything. You saved my life.’

Stiles snorted. ‘Nah, man you’d have been fine, she just hurried up the process.’

‘Still thank you, you saved me a lot of pain.’

Stiles shrugged awkwardly. ‘You’re welcome.’

‘You hear that Corey still hasn’t woken up?’

Stiles blinked. Why would Corey not have woken up? Not woken up from what? How badly injured had he been? ‘Corey?’

Isaac nodded. ‘Him and Stacey were hurt bad. I haven’t spoken to Stacey but Mason hasn’t left the hospital. It’s worse than I thought, the doctors don’t think Corey will ever walk again.’

Stiles gaped. Derek had told them that Isaac hadn’t been the only one hurt. But he’d been the only one left at the preserve. Isaac hadn’t told Derek how badly hurt anyone else was, just that Corey and Stacey had been hurt. ‘I know you said they’d been hurt but I hadn’t heard anything other than that. I thought they would have been fine.’

‘So did I.’ Isaac admitted morosely. ‘I haven’t seen Stacey either.’

‘Surely she’d be fine and back on her feet by now? Unless she was bitten too, but surely Scott would have taken her to Dr Deaton?’

Isaac shrugged. ‘Possibly. I haven’t hung out with her much, but I’ll go and check on her. Although Dr Deaton retired a few years ago. Scott runs the vet clinic now with Liam.’

‘Oh.’ Stiles eyes widened in surprise but he nodded. It did make sense. Scott had wanted to follow in Dr Deaton’s footsteps, well his veterinary footsteps anyway. When he’d taken that year out to stay at the school with his pack and be assistant coach while Stiles did his year with the FBI, Stiles had just assumed that Scott had given up on the idea of becoming a veterinarian.

Stiles knew how bad it would go down if he or Ava checked on Stacey. Neither of them knew Stacey. Scott would go mental, even if Stiles was no longer his friend, he still didn’t want to cause any problems or conflict, especially if it was easily avoidable. Corey however was another matter. They had been pack once upon a time and while not close, it was still an excuse he could use to go visit him and Mason.

Melissa had told his dad that she had finally cornered Scott and he had reassured her that all was fine. She’d been stewing over his abrupt dismissal of her and his nonchalance of Lydia’s need to scream but had eventually relented after she’d read him the riot act and he’d admitted that he’d gone up against the vampires and lost. Losing two of his pack. Stiles doubted if Melissa knew about Corey then, otherwise she’d have told them. And she’d admitted that Scott hadn’t taken the loss well and was, quite rightly, blaming himself. 

Stiles also knew better than to be surprised by Scott’s dismissal of Lydia’s need to scream, even though Scott had right there with them figuring out just how important a Banshee scream was. But then, was Scott really there with them? Stiles sometimes wondered if their friendship had only ever been one way. He knew it hadn’t been, that to start off with, Scott had been there with him, but somewhere along the way, they had drifted apart and neither had stopped to repair what was breaking. Stiles couldn’t fully blame Scott for that, while he had tried, he had never forced the issue or spelt it out to Scott. Maybe if he had, things would have been different. But Scott had never even tried, he’d pushed him away whenever it had suited him and Stiles had allowed him to.

‘So, how are you doing?’ Isaac asked after several moments of silence.

Stiles nodded, praying for a phone call, someone else to recognise him and want to speak to him, some sort of disturbance in the shop or outside, death, he seriously wasn’t fussy. ‘Good. You?’

‘Yeah, yeah I’m good.’

‘That’s great.’ Stiles smiled awkwardly, unsure why Isaac was pushing conversation.

Isaac, again, smiled shyly at him. ‘How’s your dad?’

‘Doing better thanks.’

‘It’s good you came back for him. A lot of people missed you.’ Isaac smiled again, but this time sadly, rather than like a lost puppy.

Stiles froze. Swallowed loudly. Darted his eyes around the shop they were both obviously leaving, and gave up. Forcing conversation was his speciality. So if Isaac, for some unknown reason, wanted to speak to him, he could easily do that. Maybe he felt guilty, because it if wasn’t for Stiles, Ava wouldn’t have healed him, and even though that had never stopped Isaac before, they had been kids back then. They were grown ass adults now. ‘So, when did you come back?’

Isaac shrugged. ‘Properly? Start of the last school year when I was offered a full-time job here but I first came back about eight or nine years ago. I needed help finding Chris.’

‘Chris?’ Stiles repeated, feeling the blood drain from his face. He froze. Where the hell was Ava when he needed her? He was never leaving the house without her again. Not when shit like this could happen. 

_I’m here. Breath for me. What happened?_

He heard her voice and felt his body respond to her, allowing himself to take a breath. His heart felt as if it were pounding, but if Isaac’s reaction was anything to by, it wasn’t going anywhere near as fast as it felt. 

_Isaac’s here. Talking about Chris._

_You can do this. I’m right here. What is he saying?_

He glanced at Isaac and saw his raised eyebrow, most likely about his almost freak out and suddenly racing heart, but instead of questioning it, he carried on talking. ‘Yeah, he disappeared around then. We’d already gone our separate ways but, you know, I was worried.’

‘Oh.’ _He’s been looking for him._ Stiles brain felt as if it had turned off-line. He couldn’t seem to gather a single thought.

_Makes sense. You did say he left with him. He was probably Isaac’s guardian or something._ He knew Ava would be nodding her head, he could picture it and it helped calm him down and regain his senses.

‘Yeah, he’d been helping Scott out a lot the year before his disappearance but Scott was already looking for him.’ Isaac continued, not seeming to realise that Stiles hadn’t actually been fishing for information. Nor that he’d just dropped a bombshell on him.

‘Oh.’ _He’d been helping Scott_. Stiles repeated for Ava, feeling numb. This was not a subject he ever willingly broached.

_We already knew that_. Ava’s voice sounded amused in his head.

_Scott was looking for him._

_I’m going kill that fucking idiot._

Her snarling almost made him want to smile. Almost. But it didn’t help slow his heart-rate, only getting away from the subject could achieve that.

‘You alright Stiles?’ Isaac frowned at him. ‘Your heart’s beating kinda strange and you’ve gone pale.’

Stiles was surprised that Isaac hadn’t said anything sooner.

_Does he know why Chris was helping Scott?_ Ava asked. Stiles wasn’t sure if she was asking as a deliberate distraction or if she actually wanted to know.

‘I’m fine. Why was Chris helping Scott?’

Isaac shrugged. ‘Helping him come into his Alpha powers and run the pack. Stuff like that.’

Stiles blinked. That didn’t make any sense. ‘But Scott had already come into his alpha powers.’

Isaac shrugged again. ‘Didn’t do much good. After Chris disappeared, the pack still went to shit.’

He frowned. _No. But there’s something else._ ‘What do you mean?’

Isaac winced. ‘Scott was still doing his usual of keeping everything too close to his chest. Not letting others in. They found out a couple years after Chris’s disappearance. Things weren’t pretty.’

_What?_

_Hang on._ ‘What happened?’

‘You’d have to ask Scott that. I travelled around trying to find Chris, but he’d just... vanished.’ Isaac sounded so lost that Stiles wondered whether he should say anything but decided against it. No good would come of telling anyone. ‘I found Derek in my travels. He wasn’t in a good place.’

‘No?’ Stiles asked, a little confused as to why Isaac was bringing Derek up and what he meant by Derek being in a bad place.

_He met Derek._

_Chris did? When? They already knew each other_. Ava sounded confused.

_No, Isaac did._

_What? But Isaac already knew him as well._

_No, after, he was looking for Chris._

_Argh, just tell me when you’re alone. You’re not making any sense._

Isaac shook his head. ‘Spent a couple years with him, trying to help him out.’ He breathed out noisily. ‘Scott really fucked him up.’

Stiles frowned. Scott fucked up Derek? But Lydia had said that Derek had left not long after him. What could Scott have possibly done in such a short amount of time? ‘What do you mean?’

Isaac grimaced as if he was divulging some secret. ‘He played on Derek’s insecurities to make him push away his mate.’

Stiles blinked. His mind doing a complete one eighty and concentrating solely on this new information. ‘What? Mate? Werewolves have mates?’

Isaac grinned. ‘And there’s the Stiles we know and love.’ He sobered quickly though. ‘But yeah, werewolves have mates. Scott made Derek force his mate to leave.’

Stiles gaped at him. That would certainly fuck anyone up, let alone someone who had been through so much shit like Derek had. ‘Holy shit. And his mate did? She just left?’

Isaac gave him a funny look. ‘Derek’s mate wasn’t a werewolf, so didn’t feel the connection. And yeah, Derek said some pretty rough things to get them to leave.’

‘But why?’ Stiles frowned. ‘Why did he listen to Scott?’

Isaac shrugged. ‘Scott was his Alpha then, he’d submitted and Scott convinced him it was for the best.’

‘Shit.’ Stiles couldn’t imagine how much that must have hurt. Not just believing that your mate was better off without you, but having it voiced as well, and by the person who was your leader. The person you put all your trust in to keep you safe. That was enough to fuck anybody up, let alone someone like Derek whose past partners had been rather skilled at killing people he cared about and destroying his life.

‘You’ve changed.’ Isaac said softly watching closely as Stiles tensed.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’re not surprised that Scott fucked up. Or denying it.’

Stiles shrugged, keeping his heartbeat steady. ‘Scott’s good at fucking up.’

Isaac laughed. ‘Yeah he is. What did he do to you?’

Stiles looked out the window, chewing on his lip for a minute before choosing his words carefully. ‘He got Derek to kick me out the pack.’

Isaac winced. ‘Scott’s an ass.’

Stiles lanced at Isaac, his reaction was too calm, too knowing. ‘You knew.’

He winced again and nodded slowly. ‘Derek told me.’

Stiles glanced away. 

‘You know he didn’t want to do that.’

‘It doesn’t matter.’ Stiles said quietly. It didn’t, not at the end of the day. No one had known his feelings regarding Derek. He’d worked hard to overcome and bury them. And anyway, he’d been with Lydia at the time.

‘Yeah it does. I asked Derek to come back a year ago, he returned not long ago.’ Isaac said, exhaling quietly.

Stiles whipped his gaze back to Isaac’s face, looking at him questioningly. That didn’t make any sense, if Scott had fucked up Derek so badly, why would he ever return? Although it did explain Derek’s feelings regarding Scott. Scott had completely bulldozed any trust between them. ‘Why?’

‘Scott has made a lot of mistakes, hurt a lot of people. I returned for Danny, was going to join his pack but... ‘ Isaac exhaled. ‘It was bad. I left again and when I came back, I asked Derek to come back. He’s my alpha, always has been, always will be.’

Stiles shrugged. What did Isaac mean by bad? How bad was bad? He had plenty of time to find out. This wasn’t that conversation yet. Isaac had never gone against Scott, always following after him like a lost puppy. So it must have been bad for Isaac to even notice. ‘I always thought you had a thing for Scott.’

Isaac grimaced. ‘Damn Stiles. You really don’t pull any punches, do you?’

A small smile graced Stiles’ face. It was the first one since he’d run into Isaac.

Isaac sighed. ‘Still a sore spot. But yeah, I did. Took me a while to realise that it wasn’t Allison I had feelings for, but Scott. Danny knows, pointed it out to me actually. It’s the reason we broke up the first time.’

‘The first time?’

Isaac winced again.

‘Yeah. Long story. We’ll have to have a proper catch up sometime.’

Stiles paused. ‘Oh. Um. Yeah. Sure. Some-sometime.’

Isaac gave him a funny look. ‘Yeah and bring that girl of yours.’

‘Sure.’ Stiles frowned at him. Did he mean Ava? 

_So?_ Ava’s voice demanded in his head.

  
  


‘My brother’s keeping Amanda for the time being.’ Mason said.

Malia squeezed his hand. She’d barely left his side, she knew he’d prefer Liam being here. He’d been by as often as he could but as much as Liam wanted to be here, he was trying to figure out why Stacey and Terry weren’t healing. He’d had to perform surgery on Stacey and tell his girlfriend that her brother had died. The least Malia could do was step in and be there for Mason when he couldn’t. Deaton was still a few days out and Natalie and her dad had arrived a little while ago. 

Malia didn’t envy Scott that conversation but a vindictive part of her thought he deserved it. She’d gotten the impression that Natalie and David weren’t that close but they’d still been family, had shared the same father.

‘Hi. How is he?’ Malia turned around to see Scott hovering in the doorway looking subdued.

‘No change.’ Mason didn’t take his eyes off of Corey but Malia both saw his sudden tenseness and smelt his anger and hurt.

Scott winced. She knew he would have smelt it as well even if he didn’t see Masons reaction. ‘I’m so sorry Mason, I fucked up. This is all my fault. I never wanted this to happen.’

Malia watched as Mason took a few breaths before turning to face Scott. She kept quiet, this wasn’t about her and she had no idea how she would feel if she was in Masons position, but the relief she felt at Scott owning up to his mistake, and realising it for that matter, was overwhelming. 

He’d been getting so obstinate recently with all the revelations coming about with Stiles’ return that it had worried her. But this was the Scott she knew, the Scott she loved, who would do anything for his friends. But even that she was starting to doubt, Stiles had been his friend and she was slowly realising that he hadn’t done right by him. Not that Scott was accepting that.

‘I’m not going to say it’s alright, because it’s not.’ Mason said before glancing back at his husband’s still body.

‘No it’s not.’ Scott agreed. ‘And I will do whatever it takes to make it better.’

Mason nodded and turned back to Corey.

Scott glanced to Malia, looking hesitant and unsure. She smiled at him in return. It wasn’t forgiveness but it was a start.

  
  


‘Shit.’ Noah cursed, closing his eyes momentarily. Corey and Mason were younger than Stiles, they didn’t deserve this. They had finally adopted a little girl after years on the waiting list. They were just getting into the swing of things with life as a family of three. ‘Corey?’

Stiles nodded. ‘I don’t know how bad he’s hurt but Isaac said he hadn’t woken up yet.’

‘It’s bad.’ Melissa said from the doorway. Noah gave up trying to turn his wheelchair around and craned his neck around instead. She looked exhausted as she stepped in, taking her coat off and collapsed on the sofa. ‘I’ve been pulling double shifts to keep an eye on him.’

‘What happened?’ Lydia asked as he pushed his chair closer to Melissa.

‘I don’t know, Scott’s just saying that he fucked up, that it was a trap and he got two of the pack killed, but Corey’s in a coma. And even if he does wake up, it’s not good.’

‘That explains my need to scream.’ Lydia muttered. Noah knew she wasn’t resentful, no matter what she sounded like. Being a banshee Lydia felt death acutely and it could leave her feeling off for a while. If the death was particularly gruesome and painful, it could be days before she recovered.

‘Melissa.’ Noah said quietly, reaching out his hand to offer her some sympathy. He wasn’t surprised when she gripped his hand tightly. He was trained to read the signs and they had been friends for decades. To him at least, it was obvious she was barely hanging on by a thread.

She sniffed, desperately trying to keep her composure. ‘If he does wake up, he’ll be in a wheelchair the rest of his life.’

‘They’ve got a daughter.’ Noah whispered, his eyes closed. He knew just what Mason was going through, although at least when he’d lost Claudia, Stiles was older. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but he wouldn’t wish this on his worst enemy. And while life in a wheelchair may be preferable to death, Noah himself wouldn’t handle being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life well. He was only currently coping because he knew it wasn’t permanent, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have his bad days, where he had to hide his tears and anger from Stiles and Ava.

‘Is there anything you can do Ava?’ Melissa virtually pleaded.

Noah sighed, looking up at Ava. She looked hesitant or torn. They all knew Ava, what she had done for Stiles. And that there was something she could do, that she could help Corey, could heal Corey. But it was her choice. She had healed Stiles, but that had been very different circumstances. ‘Corey’s a good kid. Loyal to a fault. Unfortunately. But this is his home, he won’t ever leave, him and Mason have a good life here, despite Scott. This is going to break Mason’s heart.’ 

‘If he’s in a coma, then the vampires must have bitten him.’ Ava said softly, her eyes distant.

‘Will he turn?’ Noah asked, dread clouding his voice.

Melissa paled.

‘No. The victim has to be bitten repeatedly over a long period of time and has to drink from the vampire, especially after the vampire feeds from a new source. It takes months.’

‘Thank God, they have a little girl. Only adopted her a year ago.’ Noah breathed out a sigh of relief, smiling dryly when Melissa squeezed his hand.

Lydia’s jaw tensed and she stared resolutely out the window.

‘I can take the venom out of his body. It won’t raise any flags with the doctors and he’ll wake up.’ Ava mused. ‘But if he’s hurt and to the extent that Melissa’s saying, I won’t be able to heal him, not in the hospital, they’ll know every single one of his injuries. It’ll be too dangerous if I do.’

‘Once he’s out?’ Both Noah and Melissa asked.

‘Depends on how severe and obvious his injuries are.’ Ava hedged. ‘But if the doctors have said he’ll never walk again and then a week later he’s walking around without any problems… it’ll create trouble you wished you’d never heard of.’

Noah exchanged a look with Melissa. ‘Corey’s sensible. He’ll go along with whatever you suggest. So will Mason. No matter how long it takes.’

  
  


‘What’s got your panties all riled up?’ Ava asked with a gentle shoulder nudge.

‘Isaac was talking about werewolves having mates.’ Stiles began with a frown. He’d been thinking about his conversation with Isaac about Derek, and it wasn’t sitting right with him. Ava nodded at him in a “go on” motion. ‘Well, where’s the freedom? You wouldn’t be able to choose who you fell in love with. It’s all decided for you. And what happens if the human or the wolf side hates their chosen mate? Or if you fall in love with someone else before you meet them?’

Lydia rolled her eyes while Ava laughed and twirled him around the kitchen for a second in time to the music they had playing as they prepared dinner. 

Noah was having a bad day, hiding out in his room, thinking they hadn’t noticed or heard the muffled curses and unmuffled shouts of anger as he couldn’t do easy tasks that used to be second nature. Stiles knew that the news about Corey had set him off. That if Corey woke up he’d be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, a wheelchair that he was struggling with. That if he didn’t wake up, Mason would be a single father like he had ended up.

‘Mates isn’t a predestined thing. That’s an archaic old wives’ tale. Both the human and the wolf, or whatever were creature is in question, chooses their mate. It is all free will.’ Ava explained while Lydia put her hands on his hips and bodily moved him out of her way and in front of the carrots that needed chopping. ‘And yes, it does happen, sometimes the human or wolf side will be in disagreement over the person they’re dating, in which case they simply don’t choose to make them their mate. But at the end of it, it doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s a deeper connection than marriage, and it can be broken. They don’t have to go through with the mating and at the same time they can still go through with the mating. And while it’s not the easiest thing to do, mating’s can be broken.’

‘Oh.’ Stiles frowned as noticed Lydia also listening in while he chopped his portion of carrots. ‘Is it only were’s who mate?’

Ava pulled a face. ‘Yes and no. Mates are predominantly a were thing, however they can mate with other humans or supernatural creatures.’

‘How does that work?’ Lydia asked.

Stiles remembered Isaac saying that Derek’s mate hadn’t been a werewolf and therefore hadn’t felt the connection between them.

‘They feel it sooner and more acutely.’ Ava grimaced, but Stiles knew it wasn’t from hearing the thud from his dad’s room. He wanted to go check on him, but knew his dad was just see it as another failure. If his dad needed him, he knew he’d call out. ‘That’s not the right word. More obviously, with other were’s, especially if there both wolves, for example.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘They will still feel the bond if their mate is human. It’s a choice they make, they choose who their mate is and make a connection. Sometimes it isn’t always conscious. It can be quick or take time. They’ll notice this connection quicker if their chosen mate if supernatural, and again quicker if they’re a were. It’s noticed quickest if they’re both the same were species. It’s up to the were to turn that connection into a mate-bond.’

‘Okay.’ Stiles nodded, wondering if that’s why Scott had been so consumed with thoughts of Allison. Had he subconsciously chosen to make her his mate? He hadn’t done the same with Kira, but Stiles had assumed he’d grown up and matured some by then. And while he hadn’t really been around to see how he was with Malia, he vaguely remembered some aspects that had been similar. 

‘Wait.’ Lydia exclaimed, turning to face them with wide eyes. ‘Could Jackson and I have been mates?’

Ava shrugged while Stiles pretended to gag. ‘Quite possibly. Being bitten I doubt Jackson would have recognised the signs or the feelings. And as you were already together and in love, all you would have felt was a deeper connection and love.’

Lydia glanced at Stiles. ‘That explains why I was able to break him out of the Kanima.’

Ava nodded in agreement. ‘That would also do it. Not just the power of love, but the power of a mates love.’

‘But we’re not together anymore.’ Lydia stated.

Ava shook her head. ‘No, as I said, mate-bonds can be broken. It isn’t easy though and you still care about him don’t you?’

Lydia nodded.

‘And when he returned with Ethan?’ Ava smiled knowingly at Lydia.

Lydia smiled, half laughing. ‘I was pleased, relieved he’d figured out what he wanted and actually gone after it.’

‘And now?’

‘I still love him.’ Lydia said slowly. ‘But I’m not in love with him.’

‘There you go.’

‘And what happens if the were’s mate doesn’t want them?’ Stiles asked, he didn’t know why Derek’s situation was bugging him so much, but it was eating away at him under his skin. Was it because he’d never gotten over his crush? The same feelings were still there, even if Stiles knew he’d never act on them. Especially now that he knew that Derek had a mate out there.

Ava shrugged. ‘Same as us. They pine, and with enough time they move on. But they will always care about that person.’

‘But they don’t die or anything?’

Ava grinned, giving him a knowing look. ‘Do I want to know what you’ve been reading?’

‘Let me guess some bodice ripping ABO thriller?’ Lydia teased, her eyes lighting up. He’d only read the ones she owned. And she owned plenty.

He smiled sheepishly, feeling his cheeks heat. ‘You said something about a mating?’

Ava nodded. ‘It’s the mating that makes it unique to were creatures. If a couple mates, when either one or both are a were. It’s a ceremony to bring them closer together.’

‘What does the ceremony involve?’

‘Sex under the full moon and a mating bite.’ She said casually.

Stiles shrugged as he nodded. He knew the full moon had a magical pull to were creatures and certain events and rituals. It made sense that this ritual would incorporate that and make use of the magic. ‘As you do.’

‘What do you want to do about this Corey bloke?’

Stiles shrugged, looking off absently. ‘He was just a kid when I knew him.’

‘Do you want me to remove the toxin?’

Stiles nodded. ‘Yeah, yeah I do.’

Ava smiled and held out her hand. ‘Well then, let’s go.’

‘I’ll just finish dinner, shall I?’ Lydia arched an eyebrow at them that clearly told them she was not cooking this meal on her own.

‘Maybe after dinner.’ Stiles amended and hurriedly finished cutting his carrots.

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

‘She can help Scott, she helped me.’ Isaac pleaded again.

Stiles remained quiet. As much as he would have once been talking nineteen to the dozen, he was now wary of his surroundings and his company. Instead he simply watched, letting Ava do the talking for the both of them. Although he was of the opinion that she could certainly do some more talking. But he knew how effective her silences could be. So he stayed quiet, watching Scott. 

His old friend still had the same tells, and it was obvious he was getting angrier and angrier the more this went on and the less Mason shut her down. If Stiles hadn’t been so on edge, he might have thought it was amusing.

‘Can you help him?’ Mason’s voice cracked and Stiles felt his breathing hitch at the pain he could hear. He hadn’t known Mason that well, but they had still been friendly with each other and fought on the same side. It was hard seeing him look so broken now.

Ava sighed.

Stiles knew that as much as she wanted to piss Scott off, she would see how much pain Mason was in, watching his husband lie in a coma he knew he would never wake up from, unless Ava did something. Removing vampire toxin from humans was a lot more trickier than werewolves. Even Stiles would have a hard time doing it himself.

Ava picked up Mason’s hand. Stiles saw the hope enter his eyes at the motion. It made Stiles wonder if the pack actually acted like a pack now.

Packs were naturally affectionate, but the McCall pack never had been. True, they hadn’t been taught how to be and act like a pack, had only had Derek to learn from while he’d still been severely traumatised, not just from the loss of his entire family and pack, but also from losing Laura, his second pack. Not to mention the entire shitshow Beacon Hills had put them through and Derek had then lost his third pack. Erica and Boyd had left him, running away from him and had then died, Isaac had chosen Scott and Derek, Derek had given up his Alpha status to save his remaining sister’s life. A sister he had thought had died and who had then left him as well, even if it was at his own urging, returning to the pack that had taken her in when she’d thought Derek and the rest of her family was dead.

‘I can. The reason he isn’t waking up is the vampire venom. I can get it out of his system. Just like I did with Isaac.’ Ava said to Mason. Her eyes were sad and Stiles wondered if she’d seen the same thing he had.

‘And then?’ Mason looked hopeful.

Ava winced. ‘You’re in a hospital. Everyone knows his condition. There’ll be too many questions if he makes a miraculous recovery.’

Stiles knew she could heal Corey completely, but she wouldn’t. Not just yet. Not in a hospital full of witnesses. While it could be passed off as a miracle or they could get Melissa to destroy the evidence of how serious Corey’s injuries really were, it was too dangerous and would bring unwanted attention down on them. Dangerous unwanted attention. Even Ava had rules she had to abide by. 

Masons gaze lasered in on her. ‘But he can? He can make a full recovery?’

Ava nodded slowly. ‘It will raise a lot of questions and will have to be done slowly, over time.’

‘But he’ll be fine?’

‘If you’d brought him to me instead of here, he would already be fine.’ Ava told him softly. There was no judgement or censure in her voice, just fact.

Mason nodded. ‘Please save my husband.’

Ava smiled. ‘I was going to anyway.’

If Mason hadn’t agreed, they had already decided to sneak in at night. Nobody would be any the wiser, their scents were still hidden. And even if anybody guessed, what exactly could they do or say about it? You healed a dying man we all cared about and loved, how could you?

‘No!’ Scott snarled in his Alpha voice. ‘You won’t touch him!’

‘You do not tell me what to do werewolf.’ Ava said, her voice serene with a slight hint of amusement. ‘If you had listened to your instincts instead of bulldozing your way through life, you would have brought both him and the injured werewolves to me instead of forcing them to endure this.’

‘You? You think I would trust you? Who would trust you?!’ Scott ground out, his eyes flashing alpha red.

Ava’s eyes lit eye up as a cruel smile slid over her face. Stiles winced, knowing she was planning on saying something that would set Scott off. 

‘Derek did.’ Ava informed him sweetly.

Scott shifted to his beta form in a split second, roared a challenge and threw himself at Ava. She smiled, lifted her hand and flicked her wrist in a circular motion.

Stiles didn’t bother to move as Scott froze in mid-air, his eyes alpha red and glaring at her, his teeth elongated as they snarled. But he couldn’t move, nor did he fall to the ground, he was suspended and completely at her mercy. Ava was more than a match for one lone Alpha, Stiles had fought by her side for years and knew she was simply toying with Scott, letting him know how easy taking him down was for her.

Stiles stared at the man he had grown up with. He didn’t recognise him anymore. Scott had once been so willing to trust outsiders that he had pushed Stiles away. Or was it because this outsider was affiliated with him? If someone else had approached Scott, someone unknown to Stiles, would Scott accept and trust them? Stiles didn’t want to know the answer to that question, he doubted it would be in his favour.

‘This is not your decision Scott McCall. You are not Corey Bryant-Hewitt’s next of kin. Mason Bryant-Hewitt is, and he has already made his decision. I suggest you leave and if you will not do so willingly…’ She smiled, her face lighting up. ‘Then I am more than happy to make you.’

‘We’ll give you some privacy.’ Malia stated as she eyed her boyfriend. Scott didn’t move and her eyes flicked to Ava.

‘It’s the only direction he’ll be able to move in, although he will need to shift forms first.’ Ava spoke to Malia, keeping her voice calm and disinterested, but Stiles could see the amusement in her features.

Stiles knew it would piss Scott off more, and that Ava knew that. 

Scott snarled once more before he inhaled loudly, his sideburns and hair receding, his teeth going back to human, but his eyes stayed red.

Malia slotted her hand into his and tugged. 

He stumbled after her but didn’t break his murderous gaze from Ava’s. 

Ava waved cheerily as Malia pulled him from the room.

Stiles rolled his eyes.

‘We’ll go too, give you some time.’ Stiles said out loud for Mason’s and Isaac’s benefit. He looked at Isaac and nodded to the door. _Let me know when you need me back._ He said to Ava. He knew she preferred privacy when she was healing and while she would rather he was there with her, she would appreciate it more if he took Isaac elsewhere. It also meant she could stop people from entering or exiting the room without freaking the werewolf out and would therefore feel more at ease and be able to concentrate better.

She had been on edge healing Isaac with Jackson, Ethan and Derek there, probably not helped by Stiles’ own conflicting feelings surrounding Jackson and Ethan. He himself didn’t understand it either. He trusted them, but also didn’t. His intuition was telling him to accept them, but they had never been friends. And how had they gotten to Derek’s place so fast? Unless they’d lucked out, catching Derek’s scent and followed it to his house, which Stiles didn’t quite believe as surely there would have been a fresher scent leaving that area as he went after Isaac.

Ava nodded.

When they left the room, Stiles deliberately choose to go in the opposite direction that Scott and Malia were going in. Isaac seemed happy to follow him.

‘Let’s go to the cafeteria, I’m starving.’ Stiles stated.

Isaac chuckled. ‘Somethings never change.’

They queued up, Stiles finding it oddly reminiscent of getting food at the school cafeteria and found a table they could talk at. He knew he’d probably end up getting another plate for Ava, healing took a lot out of her and she’d need to replenish her energy levels. He’d mainly gotten the food out of habit, he was used to eating a lot, and when he was around people he trusted. Only he wasn’t sure if he trusted Isaac yet.

‘So, this whole Mate thing.’ Stiles began and Isaac chuckled. Even though Ava had explained it all to him, he still found it playing on his mind. And he refused to accept that it might be because it was Derek’s mate. Although, according to Ava’s explanation, it didn’t necessarily mean that that person Derek had chosen to be his mate, was still his mate. Derek could have moved on. It had been years ago after all.

‘Yes Stiles?’ Isaac’s amused grin had the added effect of making Stiles feel more at ease. 

He happily stuffed a handful of curly fries into his mouth.

‘Even if they’re human, they can still feel the bond. I don’t understand how Derek’s mate could just leave him?’ Stiles had been doing a lot of research, purely for academic purposes only of course. But it wasn’t hard to guess what he was hinting at. And Ava had told him everything she knew on the subject, which was surprisingly substantial. Stiles wondered if she’d ever been mated to a werewolf.

Isaac sighed and pursed his lips. ‘Derek’s mate… was younger and with someone else.’

Stiles winced. Ava had already explained that if the person a werewolf formed a mate-bond with was human and in love with someone else, it would work just like any other human love triangle worked. It might work out or it might not. Derek’s obviously hadn’t, not in his favour anyway. ‘Shit.’

Isaac nodded.

‘He was waiting till he was eighteen to tell him, but then he got with someone else.’

Stiles blinked. ‘The man can’t catch a break.’ He blinked again. ‘Wait, you said he? Derek’s mate is a man? Derek likes men? Like is sexually attracted to men? Derek is bi?!’ 

Isaac laughed at Stiles shocked expression. ‘Yes Stiles, Derek is bi, well pan actually. Most born wolves are.’

‘Why did he never say?’ Stiles couldn’t believe it. His hopeless crush on Derek now didn’t seem quite as hopeless as it had back then. But if Derek had formed a mate-bond with someone back then, it all kinda made sense why he had ignored Stiles’ feelings. He knew Derek would have sniffed out his attraction and arousal for him, and was still grateful how Derek had never broached the subject or even worse, teased him about it.

Isaac shrugged. ‘He never denied it.’

Stiles shrugged. The knowledge that Derek was a decent man, and still had been even going through everything he had, didn’t hurt or hinder his opinion on him. If anything, it just added to how much Stiles liked and respected the stupid, self-sacrificing idiot. ‘And he always was a man of few words. Why speak when a grunt, snarl or growl would suffice.’

  
  


Malia herded Scott out one of the back door of the hospital. One that wasn’t hooked up to the alarm system because quite a few staff members used it to sneak out. Going by the cigarette butts she could smell, they obviously didn’t practice what they preached.

‘What the hell is Mason thinking!’ Scott raved, throwing his arms around as he paced up and down. 

Luckily it was a quiet and secluded area where Scott could rant and rave to his heart's content and no one was around to see if he accidentally flashed his eyes or lost control. Not that Scott had a problem with control, he hadn’t for years. But he hadn’t been this worked up for years either.

‘He’s thinking he’ll do anything and everything to save his husband, to give Corey a chance.’ Malia pointed out calmly, a lot more calmer than she felt. But by now she was drained of energy. And she couldn’t imagine what Mason was going through. The hell he must be feeling watching the man he loved lying unconscious in a hospital bed and being unable to do anything or help.

‘Look, let’s just take a breath and regroup. We need our heads clear to come up with a plan.’ She took a breath. She didn’t know how she would react if she was in his position but she knew she wouldn’t be half so calm as Mason was being.

‘What do you want to do?’

Malia sighed, looking dejected. She didn’t want to admit how she would have reacted if she had been in Mason’s position. She doubted Scott would still be alive. ‘Maybe we should go to the reunion tonight, see who’s in town.’

‘How is that going to help?’ Scott sulked.

‘I don’t know!’ Malia suddenly shouted at him, throwing her own arms up in the air. ‘I don’t know Scott. All I do know is that everything has gone to hell! Nothing is as it should be! What the hell happened between you and Stiles?’

Scott sat down, all the fight taken out of him. She sighed. He looked broken and nothing like the man she had fallen in love with. She didn’t like it. It made her feel anxious and wrong. She wanted her Scott back. The Scott who would do anything for those he loved, who stood up for what was right. The Scott that always knew what to do, who took charge and had a plan. 

‘I don’t know. I was doing the right thing. I was helping him out.’ He sounded and smelt sad. Like he did every time he thought of or spoke about Stiles. But Stiles’ departure had hurt more than just him, it had hurt them all.

‘Scott, who told you that Stiles wanted to leave?’ Malia asked abruptly. It had been bugging her ever since her conversation with Derek and Isaac. She’d tried bringing up the subject before but Scott had just gone off on rants about how this Ava woman was controlling Stiles and how he missed his best friend. The smell of sadness, longing and betrayal heavy in her nose.

Scott gaped at her. ‘What? Stiles wants to leave? Again?’ He sighed, his shoulders dropping dejectedly. ‘Was he ever planning on staying?’

‘What?’ Malia frowned, was Scott deliberately misunderstanding her? She wrinkled her nose at the mass of emotions Scott was projecting. Confusion. Hurt. Sadness. Depression. Betrayal. Resignation. That was the one she hated the most. The smell of resignation, it was horrible. She didn’t like giving up. ‘I don’t know. I meant the first time. Did Stiles tell you himself that he wanted out?’

Scott stared at her stunned. ‘Of course he…! Actually no, he didn’t. But it was obvious.’

‘No, it wasn’t. Not to me it wasn’t.’ She shook her head. The stench of old and fresh cigarettes helped clear her nose. If Stiles had wanted to leave so desperately, he never would have come back to help them after his first year with the FBI. He never would have jeopardised his career or gone out of his way to save Derek. The more she thought about it, the more she knew that Derek and Isaac had been right. Stiles had never wanted to leave. Scott hadn’t been the one betrayed. Stiles was.

Scott scoffed. ‘You’re not his best friend. It was obvious to me.’

‘How?’ She pushed, her anger levels rising at his dismissal. He certainly hadn’t been a best friend to Stiles when she’d dated him. They’d never even gone on a double date even though Scott had been with Kira at the time.

Scott sighed. ‘He was acting different. He was quieter, didn’t join in as much. I just knew.’

Malia frowned. ‘He was acting that way because you didn’t believe him about Donovan.’

Scott looked affronted. ‘We got past that. He forgave me.’

‘Are you getting forgive and forget mixed up?’ She’d struggled with that one. Stiles had had to explain that forgiving someone, didn’t automatically mean that what they had done had been forgotten. That it was wise to remember and folly to forget.

‘No. Look, Stiles is my best friend, trust me when I say he’d forgiven me and we were fine.’

Malia looked at him dubiously but shrugged. Scott wasn’t lying to her, his heartbeat was steady all throughout. He honestly believed that Stiles wanted out, and he had been Stiles’ best friend. He had known him best. And Stiles had been pulling away from her when Donovan had happened. ‘So, no one told you that Stiles wanted out?’

Scott squirmed and Malia glared at him. Anger flaring up as she realised he’d been trying to avoid answering that. ‘Who was it who told you?’

‘Chris.’ Scott admitted quietly.

‘Chris? Chris who? Wait, Chris Argent?’ Malia blinked. She knew Chris had been indispensable to Scott after Stiles had left, but before? They had always been close, she could understand that, they had both loved Allison, and Chris had been dating Melissa. She still thought that Chris had disappeared because he hadn’t taken their break-up well. But what did Chris have to do with Stiles? ‘And who told him?’

‘Stiles.’

Malia’s jaw dropped. ‘Stiles told Chris Argent he wanted to leave?’

‘Yes!’

‘Why? They weren’t close.’ Stiles had never been close with Chris Argent. His guilt over Allison had prevented that. And Stiles had blamed himself, even though it was the Nogitsune. But none of the pack had ever realised, although Malia guessed that Lydia had. She hadn’t been surprised when those two had gotten together, Lydia had become startlingly aware of anything concerning Stiles towards the end of high school. The others however, hadn’t even noticed when they’d begun to distance themselves from him. The Ghost Riders hadn’t helped that. And Stiles hadn’t fought them on it.

‘I don’t know why, but he did!’

‘I need to think. Let’s just go to this stupid reunion and let me think.’ Malia sighed. This didn’t make any sense. And when something didn’t make sense, she went to either Scott or Mason and Corey. Those weren’t currently options for her. Before that, she would have gone to Stiles or Lydia. But they definitely weren’t options. She wasn’t the brains, she knew that, and she resented that she was now having to fill that role. She couldn’t even go to anyone else in the pack, those that had known Stiles had enough on their plate, and those that hadn’t couldn’t help her in this.

‘I don’t think I can go.’ Scott said sadly. ‘Not with everything that’s happening.’

‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ Malia looked at him exasperated. ‘You’ve been looking forward to this for ages.’

Scott stared at her as if she were the insane one. ‘Yeah, before half our pack got massacred!’

  
  


‘Ava?’ Stiles called gently as he and Isaac re-entered the room.

Ava looked up from the corner seat she had been dozing in and smiled at him. She noticed the brown paper bag he had in his hands and recognised the smell from it instantly. She was starving but didn’t bother to mention it, there wasn’t any point if Stiles had already brought her food. She just hoped that he’d eaten as well. 

She felt tired but nowhere near the exhaustion she had felt after healing Isaac. Corey had not been bitten as many times as Isaac had, if she had to guess, he’d only been bitten the once. But it was still complicated, getting the venom out of a human wasn’t quite the same as getting the venom out of a werewolf. And with werewolves, it was instantly gratifying as their healing kicked in. It didn’t work that way with humans. ‘All the venom’s out. He’s starting to come around.’

‘He’s still in a coma.’ Mason panicked, staring horror-struck at his husband. ‘He’s not waking up!’

‘Give him a minute.’ Ava soothed him. He’d been pacing the entire time, always fidgeting and worrying at something. In a strange way, he had reminded her of Stiles when the two of them were home and he was relaxed enough to be himself. ‘He will.’

Just then Corey groaned and moved his head. 

‘Corey?’ Mason whimpered, leaning over his husband, staring worriedly at his face.

Corey’s eyes flickered open and he licked his lips, his face looking pained.

Ava winced sympathetically. She’d made sure he wasn’t in any pain, but it would still be disorientating, and the last thing he remembered would be being attacked. She doubted it would be a pleasant memory.

‘You okay?’ Stiles asked quietly, trying not to draw attention to them.

Ava nodded as she pushed herself up and out the seat. ‘Let’s leave them to it.’

‘Mase?’ Corey croaked. His voice sounded hoarse but Ava knew it was from disuse and maybe dryness and not any pain.

‘Oh God, Corey!’ Mason cried, tears spilling down his cheeks as he kissed his husbands face all over.

‘Mason? What happened?’ Corey mumbled, closing his eyes again before they fluttered open.

Ava stood up, and Stiles silently followed her from the room as Mason started explaining to Corey. Ava smiled as she saw them holding hands. She could feel the strength of their love, had felt that once before for herself, many, many years ago but refused to allow nostalgia to pull her down.

‘I’ll let a nurse know.’ Isaac said, smiling apologetically at them.

Ava nodded, unsure why he looked so apologetic. ‘Mason said another two wolves were hurt and not healing?’

Isaac nodded, hesitating by the door.

‘We’ll meet you by the car.’ She grinned at him.

Isaac breathed out and smiled thankfully and jogged off to find a nurse.

Stiles raised an eyebrow. ‘You healing the other two as well?’

She nodded as she took a mental stock take. Even if one of them ended up being as draining as Isaac had been, she still had enough energy to do that and time to take a nap before the reunion that evening. But if both were as bad, they would either be skipping the reunion or one werewolf would be waiting in agony until afterwards. Ava knew which option Stiles would choose. ‘If Scott’s here, he won’t be able to stop me.’

Stiles raised an amused eyebrow at her. ‘True. And if Isaac’s with us, they’ll probably think that he sent you.’

‘Exactly.’ Ava grinned back him, slipping her hand into his as they headed to the car to wait for Isaac.

‘Got your favourite.’ Stiles said holding the bag of food up in front of them and shaking it.

She could smell the greasy burger that it contained and kissed his cheek in thanks, knowing she would be inhaling it as soon as they were in the car.

  
  


‘Scott, what is this about?’ Liam yawned tiredly. He had only left the clinic a few hours ago, the first time since the showdown with the vampires. 

He’d wanted to catch up with Natalie, actually speak to her and her dad. She hadn’t been avoiding him, had in fact been staying at his house, but with Stacey being so badly injured and him visiting Mason when he could, there hadn’t been much time to talk to her. So when he’d finally gotten home, his plans of spending time with her and talking with her father had promptly flown straight out the window when he had dozed off on the sofa while she made them some tea. He couldn’t be too upset though. He hated tea and he’d been in desperate need of sleep. He still was, but Scott had called an urgent pack meeting.

‘There’s a few things we all need to talk about.’ Scott began. ‘First off. I wanted to apologise to everyone. I fucked up. And led you all into a trap. I’m sorry. I should have handled everything that night better than I did.’ 

‘Yeah, you should have listened to us and sent Mason and Corey home.’ Liam growled at him. He was still angry, it prickled just under the surface of his skin and he knew everyone present could sense it.

Scott nodded, looking remorseful. ‘I should have. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you. And I take full responsibility for Corey being injured. But he’s awake now.’

‘What?’ Liam’s head whipped up and he fumbled in his pockets for his phone.

‘Stiles and his girlfriend Ava came around.’ Scott tensed his jaw, it was clear he wasn’t pleased as he tersely ground out his next words. ‘Apparently Isaac had been bitten by the vampires and they leave a toxin in the body. Corey had also been bitten which was why he was in a coma.’

‘He was bitten?’ Liam paled as he looked up from his frantic typing on his phone. Did that mean that Corey was a vampire now? Or would he soon turn into one? He took a breath. They’d dealt with worse things. Corey would still be Corey. He would still love Mason. They’d figure this out. They’d handled worse, the important thing was that Corey was alive.

Scott blinked, a scowl covering his face. ‘That’s why Stiles and his girlfriend were there. _Ava_ ’ He spit out the name and everyone could hear the derision in his voice as he emphasised her name. ‘removed the toxin from Isaac and offered to do it to Corey as well. She _offered_ to heal him as well.’

Liam frowned at his phone. He knew that Scott didn’t like or trust Ava, but this was Corey and Scott had put his faith in worse people for much less. His relief was only slightly overshadowed by his confusion over Scott’s paranoia of Ava. They could smell Scott’s distrust. ‘Mason said she won’t heal him. Not straight away. Too many people know about Corey’s condition, but she’ll do it slowly over time to not arouse suspicion.’

Malia frowned at Scott but didn’t let any of her feelings seep out. ‘She did. She didn’t offer to heal him but said if we’d taken him to her first, he would already be healed. She was nice. I liked her.’

‘Malia!’ Scott gaped at his girlfriend. 

Liam frowned at the smell of Scott’s shock. Malia was always outspoken with her opinions, even if they contradicted Scott, so it didn’t make sense that Scott was so shocked this time. Liam was used to Scott leaking his emotions everywhere, they all were, but this seemed to be something different. His hatred of Ava didn’t make sense. She hadn’t done anything to hurt or harm them. Nor did it make sense that Scott had tried to make Ava out to be a villain for healing Corey. The only thing that Liam could think of for Scott distrusting her, was because she was with Stiles. She was the one who had probably stopped Stiles from coming home and would take him away again when the Sheriff was healed.

Malia shrugged. ‘I didn’t sense any deception about her.’

Scott huffed. ‘I still don’t trust her. How was she able to heal? I’ve tried calling Deaton but haven’t gotten any answer.’

‘He’ll still be travelling.’ Liam answered instantly as he text out another reply to Mason. He didn’t know what the hell was going on with Scott at the moment and he wasn’t too sure if he actually cared. Mason was his best friend and while he wouldn’t go against his Alpha, Mason was currently more important to him at the moment. ‘He said he probably wouldn’t be contactable.’

Scott scowled. ‘He seemed to know a lot about her.’

Liam shrugged. ‘I never asked him about her. I was too worried about Stacey.’

Scott nodded. ‘How is she?’

Liam groaned and lent his head back. ‘Still alive. Terry would have called if she’d gotten worse.’

Scott sighed and Liam winced as his nervousness filled the air. He stopped texting Mason and looked up to Scott worried.

Scott swallowed loudly. ‘That’s what I also wanted to talk to you about. I should have listened to you guys and not gone after the vampires. I didn’t have a plan. We weren’t ready to take them on and it got two of us killed. Alex and David.’

‘Yeah and another two of us seriously injured.’ Stacey grouched as she walked in. 

Liam whipped around to stare at her. He’d been so busy texting Mason that he hadn’t even sensed anyone approaching the house. He blinked unsure if he was hallucinating. Was she actually here? She couldn’t be, she was in the vet clinic, holding on but not healing. He’d operated on her. Actually operated on a person, his friend, his packmate. The only way she could be here now, was if she’d died and he was looking at her ghost. But then Terry would have contacted him. He had his phone in his hand with nothing from her.

‘Stacey?’ Scott gaped at her.

Maybe they were all looking at her ghost.

‘Yeah?’ Stacey frowned at Scott, huffing her disdain as she came in and sat down next to Liam, pushing up against him. ‘Hey, thanks.’

‘St-Stacey?’ Liam stared at her.

‘Yeah.’ She grinned and nudged him. ‘That chick Ava stopped by with that guy Stiles. Isaac was with them.’

Malia was suddenly in front of them, pushing at Stacey, feeling her all over. ‘Ava healed you?’

‘Yeah. Isaac said she’d already been over to the hospital and Corey was awake.’ She nudged Liam again, grinning at him. ‘She healed Terry too.’

He nodded, unable to speak as tears clogged at his throat. It was finally sinking in. All that had happened. He had almost lost his best friend. Had had to perform surgery on another good friend who he’d been sure he was about to lose and actually lost two other friends. All of them pack.

He took in a shaky breath, shuddering into Stacey’s embrace as she wrapped her arms around him. He tensed as he heard someone walking up the pathway to the house and blinked away his tears. He swallowed, taking a breath as he forced himself to be in control again. Now was not the time to break down.

He heard Stacey groan as she tucked her face into his neck as he caught the scent of the newcomer. He sighed half-heartedly as he recognised the pack member, not anyone he was close to, but it was hard to be with all the not so innocent pranks. He knew full well that they were all because he wanted Liam’s place as unofficial second. Unofficial because Scott had never appointed one and he and Malia had always filled that role. The door opened without any knock, but that didn’t surprise Liam.

‘Yo Scotty boy!’ Theo grinned widely as he slouched in the doorway.

Liam’s lip curled upwards.

  
  


‘I thought you were going to your reunion tonight?’ Noah asked staring at his son, slightly perturbed, as Stiles was sat on the sofa, in his tux, next to Ava, in a gorgeous emerald dress, the pair of them playing video games.

‘Yeah we are.’ Ava said, ducking to the side and pressing a button violently then grinning gleefully as something blew up on the screen. Noah had never quite understood the appeal of video games but he did see just how addictive they could be. His son was living proof of that and while he’d been sure it was something that kids grew out of, he had been proven completely and utterly wrong.

‘Waiting for Lydia to get ready.’ Stiles continued, not taking his eyes off the screen for a second. ‘Die you fucker!’ He snarled viciously then crowed victoriously, fist pumping the air. Noah assumed he’d killed whoever it was he’d wanted to. On the screen that was.

Noah opened his mouth, paused as he thought about what it was he wanted to say, then spoke slowly and carefully. ‘But you’ve been sat here for an hour?’

‘Uhuh. Apparently we got ready too early.’ Ava agreed, pressing more buttons and the dungeons or hallways or whatever they were going through, opened up into a countryside landscape.

Noah closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. ‘But it started an hour ago?’

‘Yeah, Lydia said something about making an entrance and fashionably late.’

‘There’s a specific time she wants us to arrive at.’

Noah nodded as he accepted that. It was Lydia after all. And even he knew how important being fashionably late was at parties. ‘And she didn’t tell you this beforehand?’

‘Course not, it’s Lydia.’ Stiles answered as one of the characters jumped off a cliff and plummeted for a while before landing gracefully and walked off without a scratch. If only that were true in real life.

‘You two had better not be crinkling your outfits!’ Lydia declared with a glare as she descended the stairs regally. Her dress was full length but by the bare leg that kept flashing through the midnight blue gown as she daintily descended, obviously had a split that he assumed was thigh length.

‘You look even more stunning than you usually do Miss Martin.’ Noah told her with a smile. 

‘Thank you, Noah.’ She threw him a smile but turned to glare at the other two.

‘We’re not crinkled!’ Ava quickly pointed out, squirming uncomfortably under Lydia’s glare as they both jumped up and practically stood to attention.

It never failed to surprise Noah that Ava, one of the most powerful beings to walk the earth, was so easily cowed by a banshee who wasn’t anywhere near as powerful as she was, simply because they were friends.

‘You’d better not be. And who the hell tied that tie Stiles!’

Ava winced as Stiles rolled his eyes. Noah couldn’t actually see anything wrong with the tie and thought that Stiles had done a decent job of it. But apparently not decent enough if Lydia could see something wrong with it from halfway across the room.

‘Told you.’ Stiles grumbled sullenly to Ava as Lydia approached, but he still allowed Lydia to retie it for him.

‘Oh good! You’re still here! I thought I’d missed you!’ Melissa exclaimed from the doorway, still in her scrubs.

Noah smiled proudly at the three of them. He held up the camera he had stashed away in his chair and surreptitiously took a couple of candid photos.

‘Don’t think I can’t see what you’re doing Noah.’ Lydia called out with her back towards him.

Noah winced. ‘Melissa asked me to, seeing as we didn’t think she’d be here in time.’

He turned the chair to her, wincing as his leg bounced off the wall yet again. He kept forgetting about it and this corner was the hardest to get the chair around. He hadn’t yet managed it without hitting his leg. Nor did he have any plans to figure out how when hopefully he’d be out of the cast in a few weeks.

‘Oh my God! Noah! Are you okay?’ Melissa exclaimed, running over to him, concern covering her face.

‘Yeah.’ He frowned back at her.

She dropped to her knees in front of him. ‘Where does it hurt?’

‘Where does what hurt?’

Melissa blinked at him, but he didn’t understand what she was confused about. ‘You’re leg. You just crashed it into the wall.’

Noah frowned, still not understanding. ‘I do that every day.’

‘It’s true, he does.’ Stiles called from where Lydia had just finished sorting his tie out.

‘And it doesn’t hurt?’ Melissa asked, looking astonished.

‘No…’

Melissa frowned. ‘How strong are your pain killers?’

Noah blinked. ‘What pain killers?’

‘Ah.’ Stiles cleared his throat and Noah looked over to see his son wincing. ‘I may have forgotten to fill that prescription?’

‘Stiles!’ Melissa admonished him before pausing, her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Noah. ‘And you haven’t been in any pain?’

‘No.’ Noah frowned, suddenly realising what she was getting at. ‘Not since… Ava!’ He barked looking to where she had been standing. She was now sheepishly edging out the doorway with Stiles in front of her. ‘When? When did you heal me?’

Ava winced. She opened her mouth, an innocent expression on her face before she sighed. ‘The first time we visited you in the hospital.’

‘Seriously?’ Noah felt his mouth fall ajar. He’d been so relieved at seeing them, at having his son back for the first time in a decade, that he hadn’t even noticed that the pain was gone. And then, he’d been worrying about Stiles, how Stiles was feeling being back here, surrounded by people he’d once considered family and friends before they’d pushed him out and abandoned him. 

He knew that Stiles hadn’t found it easy, that he would rather be anywhere else, but he’d still stayed. Even if he had attempted to hide away in the house with him at first. But Stiles had faced those he’d have once given his life for with dignity, aplomb and surprisingly, with a maturity Noah hadn’t been aware his son possessed. And Noah had never been more proud of him.

Melissa glared at him. ‘How did you not notice? Aren’t you supposed to be the Sheriff?’

‘It’s not completely healed.’ Ava quickly cut in. ‘I’m waiting for the final set of x-rays to be taken so there’ll still be a fracture site. Then I’ll heal them completely.’

Melissa closed her eyes. Noah grinned. ‘You didn’t think you kids could have told us this?’

Ava winced again. ‘I meant to?’

‘I totally forgot.’ Stiles shrugged. ‘Just assumed you’d knew. You never asked. Not even for pain meds.’

Lydia looked at them, pursing her lips. ‘Idiots. The lot of you.’

‘I resent that.’ Noah frowned at her, even though inside he was beaming. He’d long since considered Ava family, and knew that Stiles and Lydia were family to her and that she got on well with him and Melissa. But this? Ava healing him without thought? He knew what that meant. He was family to her as well. ‘Even if you do have a point.’

Lydia rolled her eyes. ‘I didn’t say I loved any of you any less for it.’

He grinned at her, knowing her words were true. They were all a family. Maybe not a conventional one, but one nonetheless.

The doorbell rang making Noah glance towards it, but he made no effort to move. 

‘I’ll get it!’ Stiles called almost desperately and practically ran to the door. 

Stiles obviously wasn’t having the same epiphany he was, although then again, Stiles probably already knew. Noah raised an amused eyebrow at the girls. Lydia rolled her eyes but Ava just shrugged, looking lost.

‘Kira!’ He heard Stiles shout followed by a strangled laugh.

‘Stiles, you have to let me go.’

‘Save me!’ Stiles staged whispered loud enough for the entire neighbourhood to hear.

‘Good God, Stilinski, let the poor woman go.’ Noah heard Jackson’s pompous voice echo through, but it lacked any snarl that had been so reminiscent of the old Jackson.

Noah took the opportunity to take a couple more photos before anyone realised.

‘You better not be cutting any heads off in those.’ Melissa murmured, crouching down to see the camera in his hands.

‘Please Melissa.’ Noah scoffed. ‘I’ve had to take photos for the department before, of course I’m not going to cut any of their heads out.’

‘Ummhmmm.’ Melissa said, glancing pointedly at one he’d taken only moments ago where Lydia’s head was dangerously close to the top of the photo.

‘She’s still in it.’ He grumbled. If anyone asked, he’d blame it on his cast.

  
  


‘Scott.’ Deaton said calmly as he answered his phone. He’d taken a moment to calm his breathing so that Scott couldn’t tell he was out of breath before answering. Luckily the wind had died down and it was proving to be a pleasant day. The complete opposite of his previous day, but he’d acquired all that he’d needed to, so he still saw it as an accomplishment.

‘What the hell is Ava? Shifters can’t heal other people! So what the hell is she? Is she a witch?’

Deaton closed his eyes and took another breath. He was half way up a hill that he was more and more convinced was a mountain in disguise. And the only reason he was half way up it was because he’d spent the entire day looking for a rare flower that he needed to help pull the vampires toxin out of the injured members of Scott’s pack. 

Only if Ava had already healed them, then Deaton no longer needed it and no longer needed to be half way up this mountain pretending to be a hill.

‘Who has Ava healed?’

‘My pack! They’re all in awe of her! But I know she’s evil. She’s manipulating them into believing she’s all sweet and innocent! But I’m not fooled!’

Deaton breathed out. ‘So, you no longer need me to heal the three injured members of your pack then?’

‘Were you not listening Deaton? Ava’s already done it! And I don’t know how! I can’t heal others so I don’t understand how she can!’

Deaton grimaced. Was this his fault? Had he enabled this ego Scott seemed to have developed? He should have seen this sooner. He should have honoured Talia wishes. He should never have abandoned Derek. He should have sought out Laura and Derek long before they returned. 

There was a lot of things he should have done and now severely regretted. Time was proving that Scott was one of them. ‘Scott I am currently collecting very hard to find and acquire ingredients for your pack. Are you telling me that you no longer require them?’

‘Oh yeah. You’re all good Dr D. We don’t need you anymore.’

Deaton pinched his nose. ‘In that case. I shall forward on all the ingredients I have already acquired for you and return home.’

‘Oh, thanks Deaton. So what do you think Ava is up to?’

Deaton closed his eyes and took a breath to steady himself. ‘Ava is not evil Scott. She is one of balance.’

‘But then she can’t be good either.’ Scott sounded horrified.

Deaton had to grab hold of the boulder he had been trying to work around and lowered himself to the ground. ‘No Scott. That is incorrect. It just means that Ava has no agender.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘How did your pack members get injured Scott? I can promise you it was not Ava.’

Scott was quiet a moment. ‘No, it wasn’t Ava.’

‘And did she ask for anything in return for healing your pack?’

‘No.’ 

‘Because Ava is not your enemy Scott.’

Scott scoffed down the phone line. ‘And how exactly do you know her Deaton?’

Deaton raised his eyebrows in surprise at Scott’s tone, the dial tone however, didn’t surprise him. He sighed. He was already here, he might as well continue. This was the last ingredient he needed and it could be useful for other things as well.

  
  


‘Hi! I’m Ava, you’re Kira.’ Ava said as she stared at Kira. 

She blinked but the mirage was still stood there, next to Stiles, with a shy smile on her face. She looked familiar, as if she’d seen her before. Which seeing as she was a kitsune and the last one she’d met was a few hundred years old, was entirely possible. Except that Stiles had told her Kira was his age, so Ava knew she hadn’t met her before. And she was sure she would remember someone that beautiful.

Ava felt a grin stretching across her face as she bounded up to her. ‘I’m so excited to meet you!’

She ignored Stiles as he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

‘Er, um, yeah? I mean, I am. You are? Why?’ Kira looked stunned, her eyes so dark they appeared black were blown wide as she nodded slowly. 

Ava knew she was staring but she just couldn’t help herself. She tried to take a breath to calm herself down, she desperately wanted to make a good impression. Instead she started talking again. ‘It’s been so long since I’ve met a Kitsune.’

‘It is?’ Kira breathed, still staring at Ava as if she was witnessing a miracle happen and couldn’t quite believe it. ‘You know? Did Stiles tell you?’

‘Oh my God, you’re so pretty!’ Ava inwardly winced. What was happening? She wasn’t usually this bumbling and awkward.

Kira blushed.

‘Wait.’ Ava looked at her, she was too familiar. Maybe she knew or had met someone in her family. ‘Are you related to Noshiko Yukimura?’

‘Yes, that’s my mother.’ Kira blinked at her.

‘Cool! Tell her I said hi!’ It had been years and years since she’d seen Noshiko, but they had parted on good terms. Ava had trusted her to keep and protect a powerful sword. And it explained why Kira looked so familiar to her.

_Are you okay? You’re acting weird._ Stiles asked her, even in her mind she could hear his concern.

_You didn’t tell me she was so gorgeous!_

_Yeah, pretty sure I did._

_You did not!_

_I told you I was the ugly one out of the group._

Ava hit Stiles upside the head and glared at him. She hated how he always put himself down, even if he had said it jokingly. It had taken a long time to build his confidence back up, not that she hadn’t understood. She had. It was hard not too, which was why she had promised both Stiles and herself that she wouldn’t allow him to continue to do so. And she always kept her promises.

Stiles didn’t normally act this insecure, but she could guess that it had something to do with being back in Beacon Hills. While Stiles had talked around it, Lydia had easily told her how Stiles had been treated, and that Lydia had once treated him the same and hadn’t helped matters. Until they’d become friends, but by then Stiles was too good at deflecting.

Stiles kissed her cheek and she begrudgingly smiled back at him before her eyes found Kira again.

_But if things go to plan tonight, you’ll be sleeping alone._

_Oh God. How do you even know she’s single?_

_Ethan’s her plus one to the reunion._ She reminded him smugly.

_Touche._

‘You two! Pack it in!’ Lydia scolded.

‘Sorry Lyds.’ They both apologised, Ava winced wondering what Kira must think of her. She wanted her to like her and she must be coming across as a raging lunatic, gushing all over her then having silent conversations.

‘Kira!’ Lydia enveloped her in a hug. Ava sighed, not feeling jealous but wishing she could swap places with Lydia.

_Would it be weird if I hugged Kira like that? Just with more hands?_

Stiles stared at Ava, he’d never seen her this taken with anyone before. _Oh god, what have I done? Was introducing you two a mistake?_

_Shut up._

Ava glared at him feeling her eyebrows pull down sullenly. She really didn’t like this quiet version of Stiles who appeared whenever others were around. While she saw it when they worked together, it was only when they were around others, which surprisingly, wasn’t all that often. But he was worse here, in Beacon Hills, and it reminded her of the broken boy she’d rescued eight years ago. She didn’t like it.

‘Erm…’ Kira said looking between them awkwardly.

‘Oh ignore them.’ Lydia dismissed them. ‘They do this sometimes. Ethan! Stop standing there like a simpleton. Don’t tell me you came empty handed, she’s the reason you’re getting into this reunion.’

Lydia’s tone may have sour but her affection was evident in her eyes even if not in manner. Ava watched as Ethan stepped forward smiling apologetically and Kira smiled back at him. Kira hadn’t smiled at her like that.

Stiles shot her a commiserating glance and she leant into his side, tucking her head onto his shoulder as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

_She’s so pretty._

_I don’t even know if she likes girls._

_Oh God, was she the one who dated Scott?!_

‘No, but I did bring something to put in the punch.’ Ethan grinned and patted his breast pocket with a wink.

_Hey, I don’t think you can hold that against her. It ended a long time ago._

_Yeah, because the skin walkers took her, not because she didn’t want to be with that plonker!_

‘You know we’re all legal now right?’ Lydia arched an eyebrow but she was smiling. ‘And you’re a werewolf, it won’t affect you.’

Stiles winced. _Yep, you do have a point. But she might have better taste now. It has been a decade._

_True. True. And I shouldn’t base this on just looks. I should get to know her._

Ethan shrugged. ‘Doesn’t mean the rest of you can’t enjoy it.’

_Exactly. There’s my non-judgemental girl._

_Oh God, please stop._

‘Right then, one last picture of you all before you go!’ Melissa called out. Ava turned to see the camera that Noah hadn’t been willing to let out of his sight, or his hands, now in Melissa’s as she held it up and motioned them all together. ‘There’s no one else you’re waiting on right?’

‘Danny and Isaac are meeting us there.’ Lydia called out as they all posed for the final shot of them together.

Ava smiling brightly as she found herself in between Stiles and Kira. She had the whole evening to make a better impression.

  
  



	12. Chapter 12

  
  


‘Mase?’ Corey croaked. He blinked, yawned and squinted as he looked around him. He was lying in a bed. A hospital bed, with beeping machines to his side and Mason crashed out on a chair to his other side. Mason’s back must be killing him in that position, but he was holding his hand so he squeezed it, wincing at the ache that shot up his entire arm.

He took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. What had happened? Why was he in hospital? He vaguely remembered waking up before, Mason had been there then as well, but that didn’t surprise him. He knew Mason would never leave him if he’d needed to be admitted to the hospital. He just hoped that Amanda wasn’t here, it was no place for a little girl to be, but he trusted his husband to know what was best for her.

Mason snorted and lifted his head slowly, blinking blearily.

‘Hey.’ He croaked, frowning at the state of his voice. How long had he been here?

‘Hey.’ Mason smiled, relief covering his face. ‘How you feeling?’

‘Achey, but,’ He breathed in experimentally. ‘there’s no pain.’

Mason grinned. ‘She said she wouldn’t be in any pain.’

‘Who did?’ Corey frowned, was Mason talking about Melissa?

‘Ava.’

Corey frowned again. ‘Stiles’ girlfriend?’

‘Yeah, she’s supernatural. What do you remember?’

Corey grimaced. They’d followed Ava for days on Scott’s orders and hadn’t seen anything to even hint that she might be supernatural or even knew about the supernatural. He’d been positive she was human. ‘Scott had a lead on the vampires. We all met up.’ He breathed in sharply feeling and hearing his heart rate skyrocket thanks to the monitors. ‘He wanted us to help, to stay and fight.’

Mason nodded grimly. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he’d been hurt in that fight badly.

‘We were running. Malia, David, Stacey and Isaac were protecting us.’ Corey continued, thinking out loud.

‘I tripped.’ Mason admitted, a tear falling down his face.

‘Hey.’ Corey soothed, reaching forward to wipe the tear away, only Mason grabbed his hand, holding it against his face as he closed his eyes. ‘We were separated. When the vampires attacked, we were separated.’

Mason nodded.

Corey was thankful, otherwise Mason could have been hurt and ended up in here with him. And then where would they be? Both hospitalised and unable to care for Amanda when they’d just settled into being a family. Thank god they had family to help look after her otherwise he didn’t want to think what could have happened had they both been injured and hospitalised. Although he did wonder how badly hurt he was, he didn’t feel any pain at all, just a bad ache throughout his entire body. Maybe he’d be able to get out of here soon. ‘David and Stacey were with me, they jumped in front of me.’

‘Isaac and Malia had stayed with me, I didn’t see anything.’

Corey frowned. ‘I remember seeing David in front of one of them, and Stacey desperately trying to hit one, but then… nothing.’

‘Stacey was badly hurt. She’s fine now, Ava healed her as well.’

‘She didn’t heal on her own?’ His mind was a jumble of images that didn’t really make sense. Nor did Stacey not healing herself. They hadn’t found anything in their research about that. Not that they had found much on vampires, but a few sites had been helpful. Someone really needed to digitise this stuff.

Mason shook his head. ‘Vampire venom. You were bitten as well.’

Corey stared at him as his heart rate skyrocketed again. He gripped Mason hand tightly. Did that mean what he thought it meant? Their research hadn’t extended into how vampires were created, they had only focused on how to kill them and even then, finding accurate information had been hard going. Especially as Scott didn’t know they were doing it, believing the threat to be over.

‘It’s okay, you’re okay Cor, Ava got the venom out, you’re going to be fine.’

Corey blinked and tried to push out the words in between his breaths, he knew he was hyperventilating but he couldn’t stop it. ‘Am I...? Am I going to turn?’

‘No! No no no no!’ Mason shook his head adamantly, holding onto both of his hands and then his face when that didn’t seem to work. ‘Corey! Listen to me! You are not a vampire. And you’re not going to turn into one either. All the venom has gone. Ava removed it from your system, okay?’

Corey nodded slowly, his breathing becoming calmer, but he now had something else to worry about. He gripped his husband’s hands tightly, unable to stop them from shaking. Tears pushed at his eyes, and he felt one trickle down his face. He tried to swallow but there was a massive lump in the way. In his panic he’d been thrashing around, but only his upper half had moved. His hands, arms, head and torso had moved, but everything from his waist down had stayed worryingly still. ‘Mason? Why can’t I feel my legs?’

  
  


‘So, where else have you been?’ Lydia asked Kira before she took a delicate sip of wine.

How she managed to make it look delicate drinking straight out of the bottle Stiles would never know, but she did it. She passed the bottle onto Ava who took a large, healthy swallow, upending the bottle neatly without even dribbling any. Hanging out with these two should have shot his confidence and self-esteem into the minus numbers, but somehow it had done the opposite.

Although he was finding it pretty amusing watching Ava stare at Kira with hearts in her eyes whenever Kira wasn’t looking. She still hadn’t stopped spouting nonsense when they spoke which was just weird, Stiles had seen Ava flirting before, seen her in a relationship, and she had never been this much of a mess before.

‘Mainly North America, with a few places in Canada as well. I’ve mainly been travelling but there are so many amazing tribes that have taken me in. They do rituals that can help guide you on your spirit journey.’

‘Great areas to visit.’ Ava nodded, then blinked, frowning slightly. Stiles really hoped she had just heard what she’d said. One more comment like that and he would have to say something to her. Which again, conversing silently in their heads would also look strange and abnormal to Kira, but hopefully less so than how Ava was currently coming across.

It was just him and the girls, Jackson being welcomed back like the major lacrosse player he had been as had Danny. Ethan had gamely stayed with them while Isaac hovered at the edges, looking torn and unsure.

‘Do they work?’ Lydia asked, sounding vaguely sceptical. She’d also thrown Ava a sceptical look. Ava winced and bowed her head.

‘Sort of. They kinda give me a hint or a feeling of where to go next, of which direction I should head in. But they haven’t actually helped me find whoever it is I’m meant to be helping.’

Luckily Kira hadn’t seemed to notice and was still smiling at Ava, keeping her in the conversation.

‘Are the tribes supernatural?’ Lydia continued.

‘Not all. Most aren’t.’

‘What do they use for their rituals?’ Lydia queried, now looking intrigued. She’d developed an interest in such rituals where you didn’t have to be supernatural or magic to perform them. While her banshee abilities gave her supernatural status and allowed her a certain degree of power in such rituals, Lydia was a mathematician at heart.

Stiles took a large swig and handed it on to Kira before hearing a group of girls, well women now he supposed, approach. He ignored them initially, not recognising any of them, before their topic of conversation caught his attention.

‘Did you hear what that wannabe popular lacrosse player did to the Sheriff’s son?’

‘You mean Stiles? God, he was a cute spaz at school in that totally dorky way but now look at him.’

Stiles blinked, wondering what lacrosse player they were talking about. And what he now looked like. He didn’t care much about his appearance, never really put any effort into it and he wore what he liked and what was comfy. Occasionally he’d let Lydia dress him up, but with his scars he never really saw the point of it. Jackson sprang to mind regarding the lacrosse player, but he’d never been a wannabe anything. Not even a wannabe decent person. Whatever Jackson wanted, he was.

‘I know, he doesn’t even look that different but he’s totally hot now.’

Stiles raised an eyebrow, Jackson had always been hot. So, did that mean? Were they talking about him? They’d thought he was hot back in high school? Why the hell had nobody said anything back then? Or at least tried something with him, flirted with him, winked at him, anything. He glanced at Ava but she shrugged back taking another swig and leaning into him. Ava quickly glanced at Kira before she looked away again, a blush rising high on her cheeks. 

Kira was detailing several herbs that could be used by anyone and while weren’t powerful, still worked in low level rituals while Lydia was intently listening to every word. Stiles smiled, Lydia knew Ava would be the expert on such things, but the idea had probably never crossed her mind before Kira had raised the subject.

‘Yeah but his friend creeped me out.’ The women continued, apparently oblivious to Stiles and his eavesdropping.

‘Oh my God, didn’t he? He was so creepy!’

No way were they talking about Jackson. He may have been a major douche but everyone had wanted to sleep with him. And there was no way that Danny had ever creeped anyone out. Everyone loved Danny. But that meant they couldn’t be talking about him, not after Scott had been bitten, pre bite maybe, but post? Scott could have had his pick of girls post bite. He’d even snogged Lydia post bite. At least Stiles hadn’t had to be changed into a werewolf to kiss Lydia. And he’d made sure she consented. Although technically their first kiss had been while he’d been having a panic attack and she’d kissed him. 

‘What did he do to Stiles? Aren’t they still best friends?’

Stiles blinked, shocked. They were talking about Scott? Scott was the wannabe lacrosse player who creeped them out? He nudged Ava, instantly getting her attention and nodded towards the women. Lydia frowned at him.

The girl telling the story laughed. ‘No! They don’t even talk anymore.’

‘No way! What happened?’

Yep, definitely talking about Scott. Well, him and Scott.

‘So, you know how Stiles was dating that Malia girl who’d been missing and turned up out of nowhere?’

‘Yeah, she was so weird!’

Stiles winced, they couldn’t exactly tell anyone that she’d been living as a coyote most of her life and that was why she didn’t understand social customs. At least she’d picked up a fashion sense quickly.

‘Still is weird.’ Another girl piped up. ‘She works at the vets as a receptionist and can be so rude.’

‘Didn’t Stiles break up with her before we finished school though?’

‘Yeah. He totally upgraded to Lydia Martin.’

Stiles glanced at Lydia. She’d finished her conversation with Kira and they were both listening in as well, her elegant half shrug agreeing that she was certainly an upgrade and always would be.

‘Wait, they actually dated? I thought that was a rumour!’

‘Nope, Scout...’

‘Wasn’t he called Scott?’

‘Who cares? So, anyway, Scout started dating Malia after Stiles dumped her and kicked Stiles out of their weird group of friends.’

Stiles winced. That was… accurate. And cut very close to the bone.

‘No way!’

‘You’re joking!’

‘What an arsehole!’

It was actually kinda nice, having these complete strangers who knew way too much about his life, being on his side.

‘Right? Well, he obviously, and wrongly thought he was popular and everyone would stick by him, but Lydia Martin left as well and went with Stiles.’

Stiles frowned. How did they know all this? This was way too accurate to just be gossip.

‘Is that when Stiles and Lydia got together?’

‘Didn’t Scott have a thing for Lydia?’

‘Well Stiles certainly upgraded.’

Lydia nodded.

‘Wait, I heard that Stiles got into a really good school and Scout was jealous and tried to make him turn them down and stay in Beacon Hills.’

At least not all their information was accurate, which was a relief.

‘No!’

‘What a douche!’

‘And did you hear? Lydia Martin went to Yale?’

‘I thought you had to have perfect grades for Yale?’

‘Duh, she was valedictorian?’

‘I thought that was because she was popular?’

Stiles watched Lydia roll her eyes and shake her head slightly before reaching for the bottle.

‘No, the person with the highest grades in the year is Valedictorian.’

‘Lydia Martin is smart?!’

Stiles had to cover his mouth to stop himself from snorting. He grabbed the bottle and chugged a healthy amount.

‘Hang on, I thought Stiles was with that other girl he turned up with?’

‘Oh yeah, he totally is. Long distance relationships never work, but apparently they’re still like really close.’

Stiles grinned at Ava, this was the problem with gossip, most of it was wrong but occasionally, rarely, some bits were spot on.

‘If I was his new girlfriend, I would totally be watching her.’

‘I know right!’

Stiles stared open mouthed at the three women he was with. Lydia now looked completely uninterested but he recognised her tells that she was still listening, Kira had a grin on her face trying not to laugh and Ava… Ava had her arms wrapped around her waist, biting her bottom lip as she silently laughed, her whole body shaking with the effort of staying quiet.

Stiles glared at her. _Was this you?_

She shook her head, her lips pressed firmly together to stop any noise escaping. _First I’m hearing about it._

  
  


‘Liam, what’s going on?’ Natalie asked.

He’d been waiting for this question and couldn’t quite explain why he was dreading answering it so much. They had no secrets between each other and he’d been asking her opinion on the murders since they’d first realised they were supernatural. He was worried she meant something else when she asked that question, and that his answer might stop her from joining the pack. Assuming that her brothers death hadn’t already.

He’d first asked her to join a couple years ago, but she’d been happy where she was, and truthfully, she still was. He hadn’t ever wanted to admit that he needed her more than she did him, but he had done. Even Deaton had tried grooming her to take his place but she either hadn’t seemed to realise or it made her even more hesitant. Liam had been too scared to ask. But recently she’d been making more overtures about moving to Beacon Hills, about wanting to live with him. He was all for it. He loved her and wanted her here. He could see them starting a family and growing old together.

‘Vampires?’ Her voice almost broke on the word, he could hear the waver and scent the rush of emotion coming from her. Most of all, pain and anguish. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms, and he would do, once they were home. But he’d been running low on food and she’d wanted to join him to get some fresh air.

He was relieved she’d waited till they’d left the store to say that, you never knew who was just around the corner or was listening in. ‘I told you about the deaths.’ 

‘And that the one vampire had been killed.’ Her voice was soft, she wasn’t judging him. He knew she wanted answers and she was entitled to them. After all, they’d killed her brother.

Liam nodded. ‘It all went quiet. We thought that was it, but then Scott called me saying Malia had picked up the scent. We followed it into the preserve and, well.’

He shrugged as he carried the grocery bags.

Natalie froze. ‘What was that?’

Liam stopped and glanced around, but nothing seemed off to him. Did she just not want to discuss that night? She hadn’t asked him for any details on what had happened. He knew she’d spoken to Scott with her dad, and Scott had explained everything that had happened. But she hadn’t once asked him. He wondered if it because she was worried he would disagree or say something different to what Scott had. But another part of him worried that he’d give in to his anger and go off on a rant about Scott, detailing what exactly went wrong and why. ‘What was what?’

‘Somethings not right.’ Her eyes were darting everywhere and he could smell her sudden fear. This wasn’t emotional, there was something here that was scaring her.

‘I don’t sense anything.’ He crowded up to her, on edge and ready to protect her.

A tinkling laugh sounded further down the street behind them.

Liam whipped his head round to the sound, noticing that Natalie had done the same even though she shouldn’t have been able to hear it. It was too far away.

‘I’d listen to the little witch if I were you.’ A voice as soft as the wind whispered.

‘Vampires!’ Natalie breathed paling just as the faint scent of the last victim reached Liam’s nose.

‘Get to the car.’ Liam demanded, shoving the grocery bags into one hand, wrapping the other around her as he glanced around the street. It wasn’t busy but it wasn’t empty either.

‘You mean this car?’ Another voice laughed followed by the screeching of metal.

Liam paled.

‘We need to get them away from the people.’ Natalie grabbed his arm and nodded towards a pathway.

Liam nodded but crowded into her, breathing into her ear, hoping that the vampires couldn’t hear him. ‘I can’t protect you from them.’

‘I can protect us both.’ She breathed back.

He looked into her eyes intently for a moment, seeing truth and determination in her eyes. He nodded. 

He knew she had gifts of her own, she was different to Deaton and had different gifts to him, although Liam was still unsure of what exactly Deaton could do. He kept his abilities very close to his chest and didn’t like to divulge any information about himself. Liam had thought it was a druid or emissary thing, but Natalie proved otherwise. Although she was more witch than druid. Natalie had explained it to him but it was complicated. 

As long as you had knowledge, you could be a druid. And it was the knowledge that was required to be an emissary. Although there was still training to be had, usually an apprenticeship under another druid. Most had some magical ability, no matter how minor, but more was always a plus, especially in areas prone to danger, such as Beacon Hills. All emissary’s, even if they weren’t a druid, would have had druid training. Technically Natalie was a witch, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t be a druid or emissary. Other than a druid, Liam had no idea what Deaton was. A witch could become a druid, but a druid couldn’t become a witch. And both could become an emissary.

‘This way then.’ He grabbed her hand and led her down the pathway but it wasn’t empty. There were other people using it as well. He looked back at her. ‘The preserve?’

She nodded back and he continued down, stashing the grocery bags as soon as there wasn’t anyone to see. He grabbed his phone and text Scott, telling him what was happening where they were heading.

  
  


‘All this effort and McIdiot didn’t even turn up.’ Jackson scowled but leant into Ethan’s embrace when he wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.

Isaac hadn’t realised how bad things were between Scott and Jackson. He knew that Jackson and Ethan had moved back to the States, thanks to Danny, but he’d also found out the hard way that Scott had been oblivious to that fact until he’d put his foot in it and accidentally told him. It had been a surprise that Scott had been unable to contact either of them. Isaac had been under the impression that they were allies but that was clearly no longer true. And he had no idea why. And neither did Scott.

‘Well, I’m not really surprised after what happened.’ Ethan shook his head. ‘Half his pack is either injured or dead. Did anyone expect him to just waltz in here like nothing had happened?’

‘Yes.’ Ava said bluntly before smiling sheepishly at Kira. He could see her embarrassment. Stiles had obviously told her they used to date but Kira just smiled back at her before glancing at the floor. 

Isaac winced beside them, he seemed to be the only one here who had any nice feelings towards Scott and being honest, he couldn’t really blame most of them. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and discreetly pulled it out, hoping it would be a good distraction from this conversation. While he didn’t necessarily disagree with anything anyone was saying, it still felt wrong to be bad mouthing Scott when he couldn’t defend himself. Especially when he was still thinking of joining his pack.

He’d always wanted to join, to have the close relationship in a pack that he’d shared with his mum and brother before they’d died and his dad turned against him. He’d thought he’d gotten that when Derek had offered him the bite. But Derek had been too traumatised himself and Isaac had been too desperate to either notice or realise until it was too late, not that it would have changed his mind. Derek had been right in that the bite was a gift, and Isaac loved being a werewolf. He wouldn’t ever not want to be one and hated to think what his life would have been like if he’d turned Derek down. 

He’d thought that after Derek had bitten Erica and Boyd, the three of them would become a family, but they’d left him, running away not just from Derek but from him as well. Then he’d tried with Scott, he’d seen how close Scott was with Stiles and his mum but after falling for, or at least believing he’d fallen for Allison, that hadn’t worked. The closest he’d come to was with Chris. And it had been going well until Chris had disappeared even if they hadn’t had the close relationship he’d been looking for.

But this was what he was looking for, why he was so desperate to join Scott. He felt as if he’d lost his chance once and this was his last opportunity. Only he was starting to feel as if that desperation was clouding his judgement. Something was making him hesitate, and it wasn’t just Danny. Danny had been fine with him joining when they’d first moved back together. It was him who hadn’t, he just hadn’t wanted to acknowledge that. So, he’d asked Derek for help, but that seemed to have backfired on him. Just like Derek had warned him it would. But he’d been so sure he’d be able to talk Scott around. Now he wasn’t.

Stiles shrugged. ‘Scott ten years ago probably would have. He must have grown up some, he’s been an alpha a while.’

Jackson snorted. ‘Will wonders never cease, although I’m not surprised it’s you sticking up for him Stilinski.’

Stiles smiled sadly. ‘Old habits die hard.’

‘Shit.’ Isaac exclaimed staring at his phone.

Was Scott serious? Reading the message, Isaac was no longer sure he wanted to join Scott’s pack, but if he wanted to stay in Beacon Hills with Danny, then he might not have an option. He knew he could still carry on as he was, being affiliated with other packs to stop himself from turning into an Omega, but, truthfully, he missed being in a pack. He wanted to be in a pack. Even if it wasn’t as close knit as he wanted. He had Danny and that was more important to him. And as much as he wanted to be in Scott’s pack, to be close to Scott and be a part of the family he once was and was desperate to have all those years ago, something kept him from fully committing.

‘What is it?’ Stiles asked.

‘Scott. He’s calling a 911.’

‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Jackson exclaimed, grabbing the phone out of Isaac’s hand and shaking his head as he read it. Isaac stared at him, feeling slightly numb. ‘They’re not far from here.’ Jackson pulled his own phone out and growled, glancing at Ethan. ‘He wants us as well.’

‘I didn’t know Scott had your number?’ Isaac frowned. Last he’d heard Scott hadn’t been able to contact either of them.

Jackson scowled. ‘Had to give him the heads up once we’d arrived. He wanted a way to contact us.’

Isaac nodded but stayed quiet. It was proper etiquette between packs when travelling in known territory to give the resident Alpha knowledge of their presence. It wasn’t required but it was polite. After cutting himself off from Scott’s pack and how he’d just been talking, Isaac was surprised Jackson had decided to be polite to him.

He glanced at his phone, still in Jackson’s hand. He didn’t know how to feel about this. Had Scott really not learnt anything from last time? He wondered, for the first time, if Jackson had a pack and where, he seemed so settled. As if he’d come into himself and accepted who he was and was happy with it. Isaac wanted that.

Isaac watched as Ava smiled at Stiles and raised an eyebrow. 

Stiles snorted back and nodded. ‘Yeah, why not?’

‘What? What are you talking about?’ Jackson demanded.

Isaac prayed they were talking about what he wanted them to be talking about.

‘You guys wanna see a show?’ Ava grinned, looking mischievous and rather similar to what he’d imagine a pixie would resemble.

Isaac breathed out in relief.

‘Hell yes!’ Ethan exclaimed.

‘Go to Scott, we’ll be along in a bit.’

‘I’m calling Derek though.’ Isaac muttered, grabbing his phone back and glancing at Danny. ‘I’ll drop you home on the way.’

‘To hell with that. I’m coming with you.’ Danny stated, weaving in between Jackson and Ethan before Isaac could stop him.

‘No, Danny. It’s too dangerous!’ Isaac started after him. There was no way he was allowing Danny to get into any danger. Especially with vampires involved and especially after what had happened with Corey and Mason. He didn’t trust Scott to protect Danny. ‘Danny!’

Jackson grinned. ‘It’s all right Isaac, we’ll make sure Danny’s safe.’

‘Isaac? What’s going on?’ Derek’s voice sounded tinny. 

Isaac huffed as he brought his phone to his ear. He hadn’t even heard Derek answer his call.

  
  


‘Come on Stiles! I want to play in the woods!’ Ava bounced ahead of him.

‘Do we have to?’ Stiles practically whined, as he played along even though her excitement was contagious. But he was still wary about facing Scott. Scott was the wildcard in all of this and Stiles had no idea how he would react to their presence. He could easily guess: not well. Which was why he had mountain ash along with beech ash ready and waiting in his hands and plenty more hidden in his pockets.

Ava laughed and spun in a circle, her eyes alight with excitement. ‘Please? Pretty please Stiles with a cherry on top?’

‘You seriously want to play in the woods? These woods?’ Stiles pushed some doubt into his words despite the smile on his face.

She laughed again. ‘Yes, what other woods are we in?’

‘It looks as if we weren’t the only ones who wanted to play in the woods.’ Stiles said, hiding his relief as he finally spied three vampires. They looked to be taunting Scott’s pack, or rather the remains of Scott’s pack. He recognised Malia, Liam, Stacey, Terry and Theo, who looked to be mouthing off. No surprises there. But there were two females that he didn’t know. 

Theo may have proven himself pack as far as Scott was concerned, but Stiles would never trust the man. He hadn’t the year that they had been pack before Scott had told him to leave. If it hadn’t come from Derek, Stiles would have instantly thought Theo was behind it. He’d never lost his arrogance and Stiles had never been convinced that he no longer wanted the power of being an Alpha. It hadn’t helped that Theo had never even apologised to him and had often made jokes about the Nogitsune, constantly querying Stiles’ strength and spark.

Stiles saw Theo’s eyes narrow as he caught sight of him and a smirk cover his face. It was clear he hadn’t lost any of his arrogance, but Stiles knew him better now, and knew the best thing he could do was to ignore him. So he did.

Isaac, Jackson, Ethan, Derek, Lydia, Kira and even Danny were just emerging from the treeline having come in from a different route and were behind Scott and his pack. With the new additions, Scott’s pack would look intimidating to another werewolf pack, but to three vampires, the only competition would be the two new females. The Banshee and the Kitsune. Lydia could take out and incapacitate a vampire with her scream and Kira’s sword could severely injure a vampire.

Stiles saw Scott do a double take when he saw Kira and inwardly winced. He didn’t envy Kira the conversation that would soon follow between the two of them, even though he knew she could hold her own. If the skinwalkers had deemed her in control of her powers, than she was a lot more powerful than Scott.

He saw the exact moment Theo realised Kira was there and struggled to keep his face blank. Theo scented the air, frowned and turned slightly. He paled as he caught sight of her, his expression hardening and he subtly moved as far away from her as he could. Stiles didn’t remember Theo being scared of Kira but then Kira had returned to the skinwalkers and he’d never seen them together after Liam had freed him from them. It made sense he was scared of her, Stiles realised that she was the only one to properly defeat him.

_Just in time for the show._ Ava’s voice filled his head.

_And of course, we’re only doing this for their benefit._ He knew she would hear the amusement in his voice as he used his spark and power of belief. He moved his hands gently, dislodging the ash and believing it would land in a large square around the three vampires. He didn’t want them finding out too soon that he’d caged them in. He incorporated mountain ash into the beech ash so no werewolves could breach it either. It may have been nine years, but he still knew Scott.

‘Oh, I don’t mind sharing the woods, there’s plenty of room for us all to play.’ The tallest vampire, a male, said, grinning as he looked her up and down.

‘Really?’ Ava grinned. ‘I like to have a lot of space.’

‘Maybe we can play together?’ The female voiced, smiling before she licked her lips.

‘I do play well with others.’ Ava said doing her own share of looking.

Stiles stayed quiet as he watched and tried not to smile too much.

‘Do you want to play with us?’ The final vampire, another male, enquired as if he was asking for the time.

‘I would love to, however I do have some… kinks… when I play.’ Ava bit her lip, dipping her chin and widening her eyes as he looked up to them.

It never failed to impress Stiles how many people, supernatural and human, fell for it. It wasn’t fool proof, Ava had had people laugh in her face at her antics, but the vampires here, like so many others, were lapping up her act.

‘Oh so do we.’ The tall male replied, a glint in his eye.

‘How do you feel about… blood play?’ The woman asked breathlessly.

Ava gasped excitedly and practically all but clapped her hands together. ‘I love blood play!’ She turned to Stiles who was struggling to remain quiet throughout. ‘Can I? Can I go play with them?’

Stiles smiled indulgently and inclined his head. ‘Go on then.’

He could see the wolves, namely Derek, Scott and Malia snarling viciously. Only the vampires were acting as if they were unaware of them. 

Derek took a step forward only to freeze, his eyes widening. Stiles could feel that he’d just hit the protective barrier he’d put up to keep them safe, but watched in interest when Jackson placed a restraining hand on Derek, his mouth moving as he whispered something that Stiles couldn’t hear. Derek stopped snarling but his teeth remained bared.

The woman stood by Liam, one that Stiles didn’t know or recognise, frowned looking at Derek. She raised a hand slowly and uncertainly, her eyes darting around before she froze and locked eyes with Ava and then Stiles. Stiles didn’t show any surprise at her action but he did wonder when Scott had introduced a witch to the pack, unless she had taken over from Deaton as emissary.

Theo looked pissed off and Stiles couldn’t help smiling smugly this time.

‘You are too good to me! I love you so much.’ Ava exclaimed; her eyes bright as she bit her bottom lip in excitement.

He chuckled. Ava wouldn’t show it, but he knew she’d have clocked the woman as well and have a better idea than him of what she was. Stiles was just guessing about what she was with her mannerisms. ‘I love you too. Have fun.’

‘Oh, I will.’ She kissed his cheek and turned back to the vampires who were advancing with smiles on their faces. She waved her hands in the air around her head, grinning wildly.

The vampires paused, one choked, another coughed, and the third one fell to one knee.

‘What the hell?’ Stiles saw Jackson mouth, his eyes narrowing as he peered at the vampires.

‘Holy shit!’ Ethan said so loudly that Stiles could hear him and the awe in his voice.

He saw Lydia mutter something but her lips were curled upwards at the edges. He turned to centre his attention fully back onto the vampires. There was red dancing in the air, surrounding them and none of them seemed to understand what had happened to turn the tide against them. Stiles knew that the red was actually blood and as he watched, it formed to make thick red letters spelling out the words “blood play”. Ava had even gotten the letters into a creepy looking font that Stiles was positive had been used in the last horror film they’d watched.

‘Blood play is always so exciting.’ Ava sighed happily before she paused. ‘Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t ask permission. You don’t mind if we play with your blood, do you? But then I suppose, technically, it’s not actually your blood. After all, you stole it. So, I don’t really need to ask permission, at least, not from any of you.’

Jackson’s eyebrows rocketed up off his face, even Derek’s moved a little higher. Stiles didn’t think he’d ever seen Derek’s eyebrows so expressive before.

Ethan was all out gaping as he absently swatted at Jackson without taking his eyes off of them.

Danny looked a little pale while Isaac stoically stood protectively in front of him.

‘What?’ One of the vampires choked out.

‘Stiles?’ Ava called serenely.

‘Stiles?’ One of the vampires repeated uneasily. Another vampire gasped.

‘Yes Ava?’ He replied.

‘Ava?’ A vampire whimpered.

He could see Scott’s pack fidgeting uncomfortably, all except the one he’d pegged as a witch. She smiled. Liam looked at her in confusion and Stiles wondered if they were an item.

‘She didn’t warn us about them.’ One of the male vampires whispered urgently.

‘How do you feel about… wood play?’ Ava asked, ignoring them. It wasn’t like any of them could anywhere, they’d put up barriers surrounding them.

‘Oh! I love playing with wood… it’s one of my favourite things to play with.’ Stiles grinned, feeling his own eyes light up in anticipation this time. He stepped forward.

Ava waved her hand again and three wooden stakes appeared in front of Stiles.

One of the vampires stumbled forward and hit Stiles’ beech and mountain ash wall. He whimpered. The other two panicked but couldn’t go anywhere, both of them hitting the walls in different areas as they tried to escape.

Stiles waved his own hand and the wooden stakes flew in front the vampires, a stake at each vampire’s heart, making all three of them freeze. ‘Oh, you didn’t think I was just here for show, did you?’

Stiles grinned and the stakes shot into each vampire’s chest, killing the three of them instantly. All that remained were three dust piles, stirring in the gentle breeze of the night.

‘You know Stiles, you show a girl all the best times.’ Ava grinned at him. ‘Shall we finish off this night at home?’

Stiles grinned at her, his gaze sweeping over his friends, old and new, past and current. 

He saw Lydia nod.

‘I think that’s an excellent plan.’

‘Wait!’ Scott yelled. ‘What are you? How did you do that?’

‘Well Scott McCall, I’ve had a long and tiring day, healing your pack and fighting your fight. You are in no position to ask or demand.’ Ava answered instantly, a cold hardness in her voice.

Stiles wondered if she was worried that he’d give into his old friend. He couldn’t really blame her, he’d never been able to say no to Scott, but that was then. This was now and he owed Scott nothing. He was past putting his own life in danger just because of Scott.

‘What?’ Scott asked frowning.

‘Let’s go.’ Stiles said, catching Derek’s eye this time. He saw the surprise before the emotion blanked and fell off his face.

‘Yeah, let’s it call it a night. I’d forgotten how much I hated Beacon Hell.’ Jackson said loudly as he towed Ethan away. Stiles saw him glance back but couldn’t see who it was aimed at. Probably Danny.

Stiles didn’t know how but was positive that somehow, namely the Lamborghini that Jackson had rented, meant that he’d beat Stiles and Ava home.

‘Wait no!’ Scott yelled.

‘We’ll arrange a meet when tempers aren’t quite so… high.’ Stiles relented, looking at Scott. He was looking straight at his best friend for the first time in nine years. The last time he had looked at Scott, he’d been told to leave, that he wasn’t pack. And here he was, yet again, giving into him. He felt as if he hadn’t learnt anything. While Scott wasn’t completely getting his way, it was more than what Stiles had planned on giving him.

‘What?’ Scott exclaimed looking furious.

‘I think that’s for the best.’ Malia grabbed hold of Scott, trying to stop him, but he shrugged her off and walked straight into a solid wall that nobody could see.

‘What the hell?’ Scott blinked looking completely bewildered as he felt along the mountain ash wall.

‘We need time. You need time. Look after your pack Scott. We’ll find a neutral place to meet up and talk. But it’s not going to be now.’ Stiles’ voice was hard. While he may have initially relented, Scott had just proved he hadn’t changed and was still as stubborn and bull-headed as he used to be.

  
  


‘I think they have a Seer.’ Ava said slightly numbly as Stiles drove them home. She was sat next to him, staring out the window.

He knew that something was wrong the second they’d gotten into the car. He’d been quiet and distracted because of Scott and at first, he’d thought she was giving him space, until he’d realised her gaze was absent and distracted.

‘A what? Are you serious? A Seer? How? I thought they were incredibly rare, like extinct rare? Extinct as in no longer existing, you like dinosaurs and the dodo. Although they became extinct way before Seer’s did. More like the quagga, or Pyrenen ibex. Okay, they’re bad examples too, too recent. The Tahiti sandpiper or Stella’s sea cow are better examples.’ Stiles rambled, but his eyes showed his alarm. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He knew what a Seer was and what it meant. Ava had told him all about them and the Trials, he’d been completely fascinated and had asked endless questions which she had happily answered. For days, actually it was probably weeks. But he didn’t think there’d been one for thousands of years, that it was one of the last Trials and one of the hardest.

Ava nodded. ‘They are, Seer’s are souls going through the Trials, but it explains this, and why she doesn’t know about me. There is only one thing that Seer’s can’t see.’ She paused and looked Stiles in the eyes. 

Stiles paled. Her. Ava meant herself. The only things Seer’s couldn’t see was Ava and others like Ava. ‘Oh shit. And she now knows that she didn’t see you?’

‘I don’t know, but the vampires said that they weren’t warned about us.’

Stiles blinked. He remembered that, but had assumed it was because they weren’t part of Scott’s pack. ‘They did. But surely that could mean anything?’

‘If someone warned them about the pack, they’d have been warned about other supernatural creatures. Derek and Isaac aren’t pack. Lydia. Yourself, me.’

Stiles nodded. None of the vampires had been surprised when the others had come up behind Scott’s pack and stood with them. ‘So whoever is warning them, hasn’t been watching the pack?’

‘Not physically at least.’

‘Shit.’ Stiles smacked the steering wheel. ‘But then she won’t know they’re dead?’

‘She won’t have seen what happened, just like she wouldn’t have with the first one. Only that might give it away.’ Ava explained, staring glumly at her hands. ‘And if she’s any good, which she would be to have survived dealing with vampires, then she may just know exactly how to get around my powers.’

Stiles gaped before he shouted. ‘Wait, that’s a thing? I thought you were joking? I didn’t think it was possible! That it was all myths? How the hell is that a thing?’

Ava shrugged. ‘No one nowadays knows how to make them, but she’s a Seer. A possibly powerful one. And if she’s that powerful, then she could look into the past to find out how to make one.’

‘Oh shit This is so not good.’ Stiles whispered. He’d never encountered someone going through the Trials, at least not that he knew of. And he knew that Ava wouldn’t bring it up or tell him. He knew her feelings on the Trials and understood why she was so torn about them. ‘What do we do? Can we counter it? Can we stop her? If she’s going through the Trials shouldn’t she be good?’

Ava shrugged. ‘That’s the point of the Trials, to test the soul’s character. The Seer Trial is the easiest to fail.’

‘Okay.’ Stiles nodded. ‘And the bomb?’

‘There’s no counter to a null bomb, not that I’ve ever heard of. We might be able to stop her from getting some of the rarer ingredients but with the internet nowadays that’s virtually impossible.’ She frowned, her crow creasing. ‘However, we might be able to track her with it.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You said Danny’s a hacker?’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles said slowly.

Ava grinned. ‘Could Danny search a few key-words to find her?

Stiles grinned back. With how pleased Danny had been helping them track down the vampire’s lair, Stiles was positive he would definitely be on board with helping them. ‘Oh hell yeah!’ His grin faltered. ‘What do we tell the others?’

Ava shrugged. ‘That we think we know how to track them and we’ll take care of the rest of them. It’s safer for them to stay away and not get involved. Especially if there is a Seer.’

Stiles nodded. ‘Why would a Seer come here with vampires? Or why would a Seer _bring_ vampires here?’

That made more sense. If the Seer was working with vampires, then she wasn’t good. She had failed her Trial. And if she wasn’t good and she had to be powerful to be working with the vampires, then it was more likely that she was in charge and had brought them here. But he couldn’t understand why.

Ava opened her mouth, then paused. ‘Vampires are stronger than werewolves and have a keener sense of the supernatural.’

‘So? She wanted to get rid of the werewolves?’

‘Yeah, to get to something supernatural.’ She said slowly. Stiles knew she was working something out in her head, trying to connect the dots. Only she didn’t have all the dots to connect them. But he might.

Stiles looked at her in horror. ‘The Nemeton.’

‘I think I need to visit this nemeton.’

Stiles shrugged. ‘It’s a tree, I’ve told you about it.’

Ava frowned. ‘Yes, but why would a Seer be interested in a nemeton?’

Stiles paused. ‘You say that like there are more?’

Ava shrugged. ‘Of course there are. Nemeton’s are sacred places of the ancient Celtic religion. There are hundreds of them, they can be trees, groves, spaces… anywhere. It’s a sacred meeting place of the druids. In medieval England an entire forest was named a nemeton as it surrounded a Benedictine priory.’

‘Okay. But aren’t there only seven of them? Gerard Argent had a map of them. Deaton said this one is at the centre of several Telluric currents and is a magical beacon.’

‘Did he know?’ Ava said slowly as she frowned.

‘What is it?’ Stiles recognised her thinking face. He just hoped that she was onto something.

‘That doesn’t sound like a nemeton but something else.’

‘What?’

‘I’m not sure. I think I definitely need to visit this nemeton.’

Stiles shrugged. Why would Gerard Argent think there were only seven when there were hundreds? This was making less and less sense. ‘Okay, hopefully I can still find it. At first it hid itself from us.’

Ava blinked, surprise covering her face. ‘It what?’

Stiles glanced at her, not understanding her surprise. ‘Yeah we struggled to find it for ages, it has to want to be found.’

‘Interesting.’ Ava mumbled, her brow wrinkled in concentration. ‘Only seven.’

Stiles smiled as he continued driving. Yeah, Ava was definitely onto something.

  
  



	13. Chapter 13

  
  
  


‘Deaton!’ Deaton winced at Scott’s shout. ‘You told me Stiles was human!’

Deaton frowned and glanced at the telephone in bewilderment before returning it to his ear. ‘Mr Stilinski is human.’

‘Then tell me why Stiles just managed to levitate three wooden stakes and kill three vampires with it, then pin me in place without moving a muscle!’

‘Mr Stilinski did this?’ Deaton blinked.

‘Yes Deaton! Stiles!’

‘That is impossible. Stiles is a spark. Even if he had been training his spark from the time he left, he would not be able to show such power.’ Deaton winced. He hadn’t meant to inform Scott that Stiles could have trained his spark, after all, he had deliberately withheld the information from Stiles. Hoping that Stiles would instead choose to become an emissary and his replacement, only Scott had inadvertently put an end to that. Deaton still couldn’t wrap his head around Scott’s reasoning for that.

‘Well he did!’

‘That much power for a spark would have exhausted him.’

‘He wasn’t exhausted! He walked off happy as anything!’ Scott shouted down the phone. Deaton waited while he paused and wondered if Scott realised exactly what he had said. ‘What do you mean trained his spark?’

‘As I told Mr Stilinski when he was in high school, he is a spark, that is how he managed to work so well with the mountain ash.’ Deaton had gotten away with beating around the bush with his answers for years, he was sure he could do the same again and Scott wouldn’t think anything of it.

‘Yeah, I know that.’ Scott hmphed. ‘But you’ve never mentioned him being able to train it.’

‘Ah, yes. The training is quite intense and last decades. It was decided that it would not have suited for Mr Stilinski.’ Deaton rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, trust Scott to decide to be stubborn over this, at least he could make it sound as if he had discussed it with Stiles.

‘But if he did train, then would he have been able to do what he did tonight?’

‘From what you are describing, he would have had to have trained for decades to be able to do that without suffering severe exhaustion afterwards.’ Deaton explained. Scott must have been mistaken in what he had seen or be greatly exaggerating. Only it wasn’t like Scott to exaggerate. Therefore, he was either mistaken in what he’d seen, which was unlikely or Stiles had indeed managed to perform strong magic that was impossible for a man of his abilities.

There was only one way for a spark to become as powerful as Scott was saying Stiles was, but there was no way that Stiles could have gone through that. Although Scott had said that Stiles had gotten out of the supernatural but then Stiles had turned up with Ava, so Scott had been wrong before. A shudder went through Deaton as he thought of what Stiles must have had to endure if what Scott was saying was true, although it could explain why Stiles was with Ava. If Stiles had indeed gone through what Deaton sincerely hoped he hadn’t, it might explain why Ava was there.

‘But it’s Stiles, he always excels at everything. He would have done it in half the time anyone else could have. Do you think that’s where he’s been?’

Deaton thought for a moment. He had heard stories of Ava, who hadn’t, she always fought for the defenceless on the side of right. Druids had tried to emulate her in the way they kept the status quo, but over the past decade she had become more of a supernatural police than ever before or ever even attempted. It had unnerved a lot of people, but more worryingly, it had made a lot of druids doubt that what they were doing was enough to keep the peace. That keeping an even balance between light and dark might not be the right way of things.

‘It is possible I suppose.’ He relented. It was possible for Stiles to have excelled with his spark so quickly, but not by being trained. And if Stiles could use his spark so easily, then Deaton had greatly misjudged him.

‘But then what is he doing with this Ava woman? She’s totally blood thirsty.’

Deaton sighed, loud enough for Scott to hear on the other end of the phone, even without his enhanced supernatural hearing. Once upon a time, Scott used to listen to him, and he hoped that Scott would listen to him once more. ‘Ava is what we druids strive to become, she keeps the balance, just like we do.’

Scott snorted. ‘Good one Doc.’

‘Scott…’ Deaton began but closed his eyes when he realised that once again, Scott had hung up on him. If Stiles was in fact Ava’s partner, he had heard that she was not alone and that there was another powerful magic user with her, he might have to forgo the last few payments from Scott and simply disappear. 

He knew that technically, he had done nothing wrong, but he had chosen wrong and abandoned those that he should have protected. And if Stiles truly was as powerful as Scott had made out, then he had ignored a powerful spark instead of offering him training. He had made many mistakes, and wasn’t sure if any of them could be corrected.

He didn’t want to think what would happen if Ava decided that he needed to pay for his mistakes. He gently put the phone away as he headed to his apothecary. He needed to reinforce his wards and hide himself.

  
  


‘So has Stiles managed to bring back the Nogitsune? Is he the void now? Is that how he now has powers?’ Theo asked, looking as if he couldn’t care less to the answers.

Stacey narrowed her eyes at the slight hint of amusement in his voice, which was a complete contradiction to his laid-back mannerisms. She subtly sniffed the air, trying to smell out what he was actually feeling, but he was hiding it well. All she could get from his general direction was concern with a possible hint of eagerness, but she couldn’t be certain.

When she’d first joined, she’d gotten on well with Theo, but it hadn’t taken her long to find that his morals were a little on the grey side and that there were holes in his reports. But Scott trusted him. She herself certainly didn’t have pearly white morals, so she could overlook that, but the gaps in his reports and stories were in places that began to put her edge. She’d started watching him and from there their friendship dwindled. Overtime she’d learnt that his morals were a lot more than a little grey and he was only really concerned about himself. But Scott trusted him.

She hadn’t known that Theo knew Stiles. Nobody had ever spoken about him before. She’d known Scott and the Sheriff had a history; it was hard not too with the scent of anger emanating from the Sheriff whenever he even so much as glanced at Scott.

Liam had since filled her in with Stiles’ return; the epic bromance that had slowly disintegrated; Allison; the Argents; Derek, Peter and the whole Hale history; Lydia Martin; Jackson Whittemore; the Alpha pack; the Nogitsune; the Dread Doctors; the Ghost Riders; the Deadpool. But she hadn’t twigged that that Theo, the Theo who had betrayed the pack and caused so much trouble, the Theo that had almost killed Scott, was their Theo, their packmate. 

She couldn’t believe that Scott now trusted him after all of that. What had Theo done to make him trustworthy? What could he possibly have done to become pack after doing all of that? Liam had replied that he’d given them invaluable help and support, but to Stacey there was no way that could overcome what he had done. It would certainly help in putting him on the road for forgiveness, but the way Liam spoke, Theo had been pack within the year.

‘No, Stiles is not the Nogitsune.’ Malia retorted sharply, arching an eyebrow as if to dare Theo to add more.

Stacey made a mental note to ask her more later. She didn’t seem to care much for Theo, and seemed to be defensive of Stiles which was interesting. Scott always let off an array of emotions when Stiles was around or mentioned which Stacey found confusing with his actions towards the man and his girlfriend. Nothing seemed to be adding up and everyone was acting as if a bomb would go off if they said the wrong thing and therefore they weren’t going to say anything at all.

Scott had disappeared down the hallway on his phone, muttering something about Deaton, but they could all hear him shouting down the phone to him on the other side of the house. Stacey was glad she wasn’t Deaton, but then as a druid, Deaton didn’t feel the same connection to pack and Alpha as they did.

‘Hey, so who was the Asian girl with the sword?’ Stacey asked, deciding to change the subject. So many new supernatural people were suddenly turning up she was struggling to keep track of who was who. Beacon Hills certainly seemed to be a beacon alright.

Theo paled. Not by much, and if Stacey hadn’t already been watching him, she wouldn’t have noticed. Stacey raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Theo was never afraid, but he was afraid now. She could smell the fear coming from him.

‘Oh, that was Kira.’ Malia answered for her. ’She’s a Thunder Kitsune, went to school with us for a bit.’

Theo lifted his lips upwards in a snarl. Stacey narrowed her eyes at him. He was hiding it well, but she could see the signs, the quick flickering of his eyes as his eyes darted around the room, the sudden slight shifting as he tried not to fidget. This Kira, whoever she was, scared him.

‘What’s wrong Theo? Afraid she’ll Skinwalker your arse again?’ Malia sent him such an evil smile, it even sent shivers down Stacey’s back. It seemed that Liam hadn’t been as thorough in his explanations as she’d first assumed. Which surprised her with how much he had included in his explanations.

Stacey glanced around at the others, but they seemed just as confused as she was. Except for Liam, who wasn’t listening, instead he was typing away on his phone with Natalie tucked under his arm. Stacey didn’t blame Natalie for holding out on joining them. She honestly couldn’t say, if given the choice again, she would choose the same. Scott had conveniently glossed over a lot when he’d given her the choice.

‘Urgh.’ Scott exclaimed as he slammed back into the room, the door banging loudly behind him making the other wolves flinch. Scott didn’t react. ‘Deaton doesn’t know what happened.’

Stacey managed to control her snort but probably failed on keeping her expression neutral. They had all heard the conversation, at least all of the wolves would have, and that was not what Deaton had said.

‘What the hell is Kira doing back?’ Theo snarled, his eyes flashing.

Ignoring him, Scott sent an apologetic look towards Malia. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know she was back.’

Malia blinked at him. ‘Why are you sorry? She might be able to help with the vampires.’

‘I’m guessing there’s some history here?’ Stacey cut in, already fed up with being left out of the loop. She couldn’t help notice Theo’s sullen expression.

‘Yeah.’ Scott half grimaced, half gave a sappy look, it wasn’t an attraction finish. ‘She’s my ex.’

He shot Malia another puppy dog look.

‘Why are you looking at me?’ Malia demanded sounding defensive.

‘I don’t want her to upset you.’ Scott said earnestly.

Malia frowned. ‘Why would Kira upset me?’

Stacey narrowed her eyes as Theo smiled then cleared his expression quickly.

‘Well.’ Scott frowned, looking and smelling vaguely put out. ‘She’s my ex.’

‘Yeah, and you broke up ages before we got together and I always got on well with her.’

‘Oh.’ Scott blinked.

Stacey had to fake a cough into her hand to stop herself from laughing. She needed to speak to Isaac about how to be an omega without turning feral. And look into transferring somewhere else. Anywhere else.

‘Isn’t anyone else worried about the vampires?’ Liam said.

Stacey turned to look at him with a frown on her face. She could smell how worried and upset he was, but even if the vampires had approached him and Natalie in the middle of town, they were dead now.

‘They’re dead.’ Scott said bluntly, echoing Stacey’s thoughts.

Stacey narrowed her eyes at him. ‘What? What are you worried about?’

‘Their smell.’ Liam winced. ‘Their scent. It was faint like before, but…’

Stacey stared at him horrified while he trailed off. She knew what she had missed. What apparently only Liam had picked up, and finished his sentence for him. ‘They didn’t smell like the last victim.’

‘What does that mean?’ Theo asked.

‘That they’ve killed someone else.’ Scott muttered.

‘I haven’t heard anything.’ Stacey denied shaking her head. ‘If they’ve killed someone, their body hasn’t been found yet.’

‘You’ve been off though.’ Scott frowned. ‘I’ll call Parrish. See if he’s heard anything.’

‘I went in today. There wasn’t anything new. Just an old lady who died of natural causes and a middle-aged male alcoholic.’ Stacey told him. ‘They’d have called me in if another one was found.’

  
  


‘When are you going to arrange this meet?’ Derek asked, staring at Stiles.

He’d arrived at the Stilinski house just as Stiles and Ava were entering. Jackson’s car had already beaten them there and was sitting in the best spot.

He’d spent the drive over analysing that evening, but he couldn’t get his head around one thing. Stiles had magic. Stiles had powerful magic and had taken down three vampires without breaking a sweat and barely batting an eyelid. 

Ava had magic, sure, that was more than obvious. She had no scent and she’d healed Isaac, of course she had magic. How powerful Ava was, that was a surprise, but again, Isaac had already told him that she’d taken out one vampire with barely any effort, but three? He knew he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t expected that. Even if he had witnessed her removing the venom from Isaac.

Scott’s stupidity in going against the vampires once more? Also a given, at least he’d asked Jackson and Ethan for back-up. He didn’t hold it against Scott for not asking for his help, he was thankful that Isaac had, although he’d already received a message from Jackson demanding his presence once he’d gotten off the phone with Isaac.

But Stiles having magic? He’d long ago dismissed Scott’s theory of Ava controlling him, but Stiles had just cemented his decision. If Ava had been controlling him, there was no way she would have let him do any magic, not when she was clearly more capable. And even with both of them hiding their scents, it was so clear and obvious how much they loved each other. Derek didn’t care how much it hurt him seeing Stiles happy with someone else, he just wanted Stiles to be happy. And he was, with Ava.

But how had Stiles gotten magic? He hadn’t had it when he’d left. Stiles had had his spark, which enabled him to manipulate mountain ash, but this was something completely different. This was much more powerful than that. Unless Deaton had lied to him. Which Derek wouldn’t put past him, he had always listened to the druids heartbeat for lies, but Deaton had his ways around it. Withholding information wasn’t lying.

He should never have let Stiles leave; he should have left with him. Maybe they could have figured this out together. But Stiles had been with Lydia, and it hadn’t been easy seeing them together. Stiles had been happy with her, there was no way that Derek would ever have gotten between that. And anyway, he’d listened to Scott, believed that Stiles would never want him, would never feel that way about him. That he was helping Stiles, doing what Stiles wanted by pushing him out. Scott hadn’t been lying, his heartbeat had been steady when he’d told him Stiles wanted to leave but his guilt was making him stay.

‘Once Jackson has left.’ Stiles stated immediately without blinking.

Derek snorted along with Isaac, surprised and pleased that Stiles’ remark was teasing rather than antagonistic.

Lydia rolled her eyes and Danny grinned.

‘Hey.’ Jackson screwed up a piece of newspaper and threw it at him, but it still lightened the mood. With the history between Jackson and Stiles, Derek had expected explosions between them, but instead, they seemed to have struck up a friendship that he would never have expected.

‘Everyone knows your diplomacy skills Jackson.’ Danny laughed.

‘Yeah they suck.’ Stiles agreed, grinning at the glare Jackson sent him.

Jackson grumbled but didn’t dispute it, probably because he couldn’t. Derek could see a smile hinting at the corners of his mouth.

‘You said a neutral place? Any ideas?’ Derek asked, getting them back on track. He’d had to analyse this strange turn of events later.

He wanted to be there. Not just to be kept in the loop, but he knew Stiles and he knew Scott. And while Ava and Lydia certainly had Stiles’ back, he would feel better being there for Stiles too. And for the first time since his return, he didn’t want to be left out.

Scott wouldn’t intend to hurt Stiles, but he never thought about the impact his words had ever had on him before. And while he was sure that Ava could take Scott in a fight, he might be able to head Scott off before he said something he might never be able to recover from, that Stiles would never forgive him for. 

Stiles had always protected others and not himself. Scott had it out for Ava and Stiles would protect her, but Scott’s words could still hurt him. If he could, Derek wanted to protect him from that.

Stiles shrugged and looked to Isaac. ‘You know the area best. What’s outside of Scott’s boundaries?’

‘Mainly residential areas, there’s the odd shop and a few cafes and coffee shops.’ Isaac scrunched up his nose as he answered.

‘You could have it at my house.’ Derek offered. The cafe’s and coffee shops he knew they’d rule out, too public, same as the residential areas, unless they could find an empty house. Or a neutral house, like his, and he had no neighbours and plenty of space. ‘It’s outside his territory.’

‘And technically, this territory is Hale territory. All of Beacon Hills is.’ Ava mused. 

Derek hid his frown, wondering how she knew that. He doubted that Stiles had told her or even knew himself, that even though it wasn’t a Hale Alpha residing over the land, it was still, and would be for a long time, Hale territory. Hales had bled for this land, died for and protected the land for hundreds of years. The land recognised that and wouldn’t disregard or ignore it. No matter what bloodline the current Alpha was. 

‘That would work but I don’t know if Scott would like it.’ Ava continued.

‘He wouldn’t. It’s perfect.’ Lydia decided a smug smile covering her face.

Derek smiled, pleased. While he didn’t want Scott in the same place he was sleeping, his living arrangement was only temporary. He’d been staying to help out Isaac and do the place up for the next tenants. He’d already done it up, and he doubted he’d be staying much longer. As much as Isaac didn’t want to admit it, even he had to see that Derek’s presence was doing more harm than good. And Stiles was happy with Ava. 

‘Do you think Scott will listen?’ Isaac asked.

‘Does it matter?’ Jackson muttered darkly. Derek nudged him gently, unsurprised when Jackson’s returned his nudge and lingered for a moment. He appreciated the sentiment and contact.

‘He needs to stop making all these mistakes.’ Isaac pushed.

‘He’s not going to listen to any of us.’ Derek sighed. He’d been having this same conversation with Isaac for a while now. Isaac was too desperate for Scott to be the good and true alpha that he believed in, that he wasn’t seeing Scott for what he really was. A spoiled arrogant child in way over his head who kept getting lucky.

‘I think the only thing he’ll listen to is what Ava is.’ Lydia sighed. She’s always been good at reading people. And it seemed she could still read Scott.

‘That I’m not telling him.’ Ava smirked, looking more evil than mischievous. ‘But there are other things he needs to know.’

Derek frowned, not just because he didn’t understand what Ava meant but also because Stiles froze and his heartbeat stuttered before resuming its normal too fast beat. He watched as Stiles glanced at Ava, frowned, then cocked his head as if thinking before nodding. It was like they were having a silent conversation. Which with how in sync they were, he wouldn’t be surprised.

Stiles nodded after a moment. ‘He has questions. We’ll answer the ones that we want too.’

Derek didn’t think anyone else had noticed, but then the others didn’t pay as much attention to Stiles as Derek did.

‘Well, our flight is the day after tomorrow.’ Ethan said. ‘We can delay it if you want us to.’

‘I really don’t want to spend my last day here pandering to McCall’s ego.’ Jackson scrunched up his nose distastefully.

‘Yeah, your own is big enough.’ Stiles snarked but he was grinning.

Derek blinked. When had that happened? Stiles and Jackson were actually bantering rather than verbally attempting to eviscerate the other. How had things changed in such a short amount of time? What had caused this friendship to suddenly spring up between them?

Derek shook his head and looked to Stiles and Ava, ignoring the squabbling. ‘It’s your choice.’

Stiles shook his head. ‘No, it’s just going to be us talking and avoiding answering certain questions.’

‘Yeah about that.’ Jackson said narrowing his gaze critically at Ava. ‘What exactly are you?’

Derek winced but Ava only grinned at him. ‘What do you think I am?’

Jackson blinked looking surprised. ‘I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.’

‘Well, why don’t you have a think and try to guess.’

‘Will you actually tell him if he gets it right?’ Lydia asked dryly.

Ava laughed. ‘No.’

‘So, wait.’ Jackson frowned. Derek could feel his confusion. ‘Don’t tell me Stilinski actually knows?’

Derek tried hard not to react at the almost affectionate tone Jackson said Stiles’ surname in, it was completely different to how he’d said Scott’s surname.

‘Of course I do!’ Stiles replied affronted.

‘Of course he does.’ Ava grinned as she answered at the same time.

Jackson groaned.

‘But you’re not going to tell McCall are you?’ Jackson actually sounded worried, even through the venomous tone he’d used to say Scott’s name. 

‘Of course not.’ Ava replied amused.

Stiles remained quiet.

‘Well, that’s something.’ Jackson sighed, resigned. ‘But you need us, you call us, we’ll come back.’

‘Just try not to call when we’re twenty thousand feet in the air. I do not want to have deal with Jackson wolfed out in first class.’ Ethan nudged his husband.

‘Please.’ Jackson snorted. ‘As if I would, I have class.’

‘I’d like tomorrow to sleep, taking the venom out of three people is tiring. We’ll do it the morning Jackson and Ethan leave.’ Ava decided.

‘I’ll get a message to Scott.’ Isaac volunteered.

Derek didn’t miss Danny’s grimace. In fact, it looked like Isaac was the only one who did.

‘We could do with your help though, Danny.’ Stiles continued. 

Derek looked over wondering what it was about, although he had been invaluable in finding their original lair. And while they hadn’t had any luck in tracking down their current place, Derek wondered if they had any new information from tonight. They could easily have noticed something he hadn’t.

‘Mine?’ Danny asked sounding shocked but looking pleased.

Ava nodded. ‘We think we might have a way to find out some more about these vampires. I think they’ve been ordering certain herbs, some of which are very rare.’

‘If it’s done on a computer, I can trace it.’

Both Stiles and Ava grinned. ‘Perfect!’

Derek subtly sniffed the air as he scented someone approaching, quickly recognising the scent as Kira. He glanced at Jackson and Ethan but they just shrugged. He knew Kira had gone to the reunion with them, allowing Ethan to be her plus one.

It wasn’t long before the doorbell rang and he watched Stiles share a quick glance with Ava who shrugged in return. Stiles got up to answer the door and Derek tried hard not to stare at his arse in those form fitting formal trousers. There was a reason he’d wanted to stay home this evening, and it was precisely to avoid seeing Stiles in formal evening wear.

He ignored Jackson’s eye-roll and Ethan’s knowing look.

‘Hi.’ Kira said shyly.

‘Kira.’ Stiles grinned at her before wincing. ‘Was that the first time you’d seen Scott since returning?’

She grimaced in reply. ‘Yeah. I didn’t stick around to say anything. Hope you don’t mind that I came here?’

‘Of course not!’ Ava beamed at her.

‘What you guys did was so awesome!’ Kira rushed out, her cheeks pinking. 

Derek could smell Kira’s attraction. He could easily guess it was aimed at Ava, luckily both Stiles and Ava seemed completely oblivious.

‘I got a bit carried away.’ Ava winced, but was staring at Kira. ‘Sorry.’

Derek frowned; did she think Kira had a weak constitution? She may look delicate but Derek knew just how tough the kitsune was.

‘No! It was incredible! I’ve never seen anyone with powers like yours before! What are you?’

Ava sighed, her shoulders deflating, Derek hadn’t realised she was tense. ‘What do you think I am?’

Her tone was teasing so it was clear she wasn’t upset about the question. Derek found it strange that she was unwilling to share what she was, but he’d heard of people who liked to keep themselves to themselves. There were layers upon layers in the supernatural world and it wasn’t always safe. And after everything he’d been through, he wasn’t sure he could blame them even if he didn’t like it. He still had trouble trusting. He knew form first-hand personal experience, just how dangerous the world could be.

‘Oh erm, a Mage or something? You’re much too powerful to be a witch. Maybe an Amazon? You seem to have a strong sense of justice, but I’ve never heard of them doing magic the way you did. Maybe a Nephilim or a Seraphim? Or a Phoenix?’ Kira stopped suddenly, her eyes bulging, embarrassment overpowering the room. ‘Oh my god I’m so sorry! You should have stopped me, that was so rude of me!’

Ava grinned even as her cheeks turned rosy. Was she embarrassed by her magic? ‘No, it was fine. All really good theories. I promise.’

Derek caught Stiles’ eye, watched him facepalm and then peek out through his fingers. At least he found this amusing.

  
  
  


‘I want to know more about Ava.’ Corey said, staring at him. Mason hated that look; he always gave in to that look. The big eyes, the open expression, the clear love he held for him.

Corey had him wrapped around his finger and didn’t even seem to realise it.

Mason sighed. ‘Honestly? I don’t know much about her. But I’ll see what I can do.’

‘What do you know?’

Mason shrugged. ‘She turned up here one day, three days after you were admitted. With Stiles and Isaac. Scott and Malia were here. Scott was furious to see her. Isaac had apparently been bitten by the vampires as well, I think, I wasn’t paying too much attention. But he said she’d healed him and could heal you. That was where I started to pay attention. She said that was why you weren’t waking up. Because you’d been bitten and had their venom in you.’

‘Okay.’ Corey frowned.

‘Scott didn’t want her anywhere near you, I think he thought she was dangerous. They argued, well Scott tried to argue, she mainly seemed amused. But she did say that if we’d taken you straight to her instead of here, you’d be fully healed already.’

‘Wait, you mean?’ Corey stared at him, his face paling and his eyes widened.

Mason nodded. ‘I asked if she could fix your spine, I think I did, and she said that too many people knew how badly injured you were. But that slowly, and over time, she could fully heal you.’

He watched Corey open and close his mouth several times, could see his eyes brighten with tears. ‘You mean? I-I could walk again?’

Mason’s heart constricted at the pain in husbands voice. He nodded. ‘She did. She said she had to do it slowly so no one realised.’

‘What do you mean?’

Mason shrugged. ‘I don’t know what she meant by that. But.’ he took a deep breath. ‘If we have to go to wherever she is, to get you better, we’ll do it.’

Corey’s eyes filled with tears and he gripped Mason’s hand. ‘Mase.’

‘I will do anything for you Cor, including moving.’

Corey sniffed, smiling and biting his lip. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

‘Beacon Hills is our home.’

‘We’ll be back.’

‘What about the pack?’

‘You’re more important. And anyway, we’ll still be pack. We’ll still help them.’ It sounded like his husband had it all figured out. No matter what life threw at them, no matter if his legs no longer worked, he knew he was lucky to have Mason by his side and supporting him. He loved him so much, he felt as if he could conquer anything with Mason by his side.

‘What’s happening with the pack?’ Mason hesitated. ‘Mase?’

‘Stiles has magic.’ Mason’s voice was low and soft.

‘What?’ Corey blinked at him, wondering if he’d misheard. Stiles? Stiles had magic? That made absolutely no sense. But Mason was staring back at him with a worried expression on his face. He hadn’t misheard.

Mason nodded. ‘Yeah. Scott, Scott’s not taking it well.’

‘But Stiles wanted out?’ The whole pack had been surprised and hurt by Stiles’ decision, but after Scott had explained everything, they had understood. Sort of. Corey still couldn’t get his head around why they have couldn’t have talked it out. Or talked about it at all. But it was their friendship, not his. And he respected his Alpha.

Mason shrugged. ‘Apparently. And Jackson and Ethan came into town a couple days ago. Kira’s here as well.’

‘The reunion.’ Corey realised. Mason nodded. Both of them had been surprised by Scott’s decision to let Stiles go and how he’d gone about it but had both felt that it wasn’t their place to say anything. And Scott had been adamant. ‘Jackson say why he dropped all contact?’

‘I didn’t see him but Liam didn’t know.’ Corey could easily guess that Mason hadn’t left his side and was getting all of his information from Liam. The only time Mason had left since he’d woken up was to go see their daughter, then he was straight back here, sleeping in the bed next to him and showering in the tiny bathroom attached to his room.

  
  


‘Isaac talk to me!’ Danny pleaded. He’d held his tongue in front of the others but now, now they were back home, alone and he wanted some answers. Things hadn’t been adding up for a while and tonight, he’d finally put his finger on it. ‘You keep telling me that Scott is making mistakes but so far, all the mistakes you’ve told me about are from years ago!’

Isaac paled and took a deep breath. ‘Shit. I was hoping you hadn’t noticed.’ Danny glared at him and he winced. ‘Okay, okay, but Danny please, you must keep this to yourself!’

Danny nodded. His anger already rising, he knew Isaac would be able to scent it, so he tried to reign it in, but when had he ever told anyone else anything Isaac had told him? Especially about Scott and the pack. He’d kept it all to himself, even when he’d spoken to Jackson or Lydia, he’d avoided all talk of the supernatural. Although they hadn’t actually known he had known. But even when Jackson had found out he knew; he’d only talked about Isaac. Neither of them had ever mentioned Scott and usually avoided the shitstorm that was high school.

Isaac sighed and ran his hand through his hair. ‘So, Scott’s been wanting a bigger pack. He wants to be known, and well respected. But he wants all the accolation, he doesn’t want to share it. But to get a bigger pack you need more people, supernatural people.’ Isaac started pacing as he explained, using his hands to emphasise his point. Danny didn’t know where this was going, but he was already getting a bad feeling about it. ‘Now there’s two ways, well three really of getting more people. You put the word out, but that can be dangerous and alert the wrong sort of people. To be honest, I don’t think Scott even knows that’s a possibility.’

‘Do you mean hunters when you say wrong sort of people?’ Danny asked.

Isaac half nodded. ‘Hunters are a possibility but also supernaturals wanting to join for the wrong reason, only wanting to join because he’s a True Alpha and not for the good of the pack, or wanting to steal his power. Or others packs that are bigger and more powerful and want him and his whole pack gone for whatever reason.’

‘Okay.’ Danny nodded in understanding. That wasn’t really something that only occurred in the supernatural world but in the human world as well. He knew all about espionage and how easy it was to find back doors. It was his job after all, well finding back doors was, not espionage.

‘Another option is inviting supernatural creatures to join when they move here or pass through. However, they have to come here first, Scott has to realise they are in fact supernatural, which he is not good at, and they have to want to join. But look at Beacon Hills, the Hales who have the rights to the land have left, if they came back, whether it’s tomorrow or a hundred years from now, they have every right to turf Scott out of Beacon Hills, him being a true alpha is a moot point in that.’

Danny frowned. He didn’t know that. He thought that because Scott was the Alpha, he was the one who had the right and control over this land. ‘How do they have the right to the land if they’ve left?’

‘Because they’ve been the guardians and protectors of Beacon Hills and the Nemeton for generations. They’ve bled and died for this land; it creates a bond which isn’t easily dismissed or gotten rid of.’

Danny wasn’t sure he completely understood, not without a major history lesson in territory, werewolves and magic but it made sense. ‘And the final option?’

Isaac sighed. ‘Biting people, which is what Scott’s been doing. And while, so far, he’s only been biting people who would die otherwise, he’s getting their consent by just telling them that he can save their life.’

Danny stared at him shocked. ‘That, that isn’t informed consent.’

Isaac shook his head. ‘No, it’s not. At least one of his pack had no idea he was a werewolf and that was how he was going to save them.’

‘Shit.’ Danny’s eyes widened. ‘Who?’

‘Stacey.’

Danny was quiet as he thought it all through. ‘You said so far he’s only biting people to save their lives, do you think he’ll start biting people who don’t need the bite?’

Isaac stilled, his eyes going distant. ‘I think he’s already debating it.’

‘Did Derek ever do that?’

Isaac shook his head. ‘He bit Erica and I to save our lives, my dad would have eventually killed me, Erica’s epilepsy could have killed her at any second.’

‘And Boyd?’ Danny asked gently, knowing that Erica and Boyd weren’t a subject that Isaac like talking about and was very sensitive over.

Isaac sighed, wrapping his arms around himself. ‘Boyd’s life wasn’t in danger like ours, but he felt so isolated and had no one to turn to. He would have ended up killing himself.’

Danny went and wrapped himself around Isaac, he knew how hard he found it to talk about Erica and Boyd. ‘And Derek recognised that.’

Isaac huffed a laugh but it was broken. ‘He saw a lot more than any of us gave him credit for. But it’s not just that, the bite can be dangerous. It doesn’t always save the person.’

Danny nodded. ‘I remember you telling me the bite doesn’t always take.’

‘And Scott’s already bitten two that didn’t survive.’

Danny paused. That he didn’t know. ‘Didn’t survive the bite or didn’t survive the injuries?’

Isaac sighed and shrugged. ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’

‘Do you really think Derek can help Scott?’

‘Yes I do. I just need to get Scott to listen to Derek. To realise that he needs help, then I can help guide him. Stop him from doing this stupid shit.’

Danny let his arms fall from Isaac. ‘As a member of his pack. You would help guide him, keep him on the right path as a member of his pack. He would be your Alpha.’

Isaac nodded, turning to face him. ‘That’s the plan. If we’re making Beacon Hills our home, if I’m staying in one place, then I need to be part of a pack, I need an Alpha.’

Danny struggled to swallow. ‘Why does it have to be Beacon Hills? Why Scott McCall?’

‘Beacon Hills is our home Danny and Scott could be an amazing Alpha.’ Isaac pleaded.

Danny closed his eyes and took a breath. He knew that Isaac wanted a pack, to settle, but he needed to know if he only wanted that here, with Scott. ‘You want this? You want to stay here? To have Scott as your Alpha?’

Isaac nodded.

‘I can’t do this anymore Isaac.’ Danny whispered, he heard his voice wavering, but this was the last straw. How could Isaac want Scott as his Alpha knowing everything that he had done? And Danny knew that Isaac knew more than he did, knew more about this stuff than he did. He loved Isaac, but staying here would kill the both of them and their relationship. And he knew Isaac loved Scott. He had thought that he’d been over it, or getting over it, and that moving back here would be okay. But not now. If Isaac was overlooking all the awful things that Scott had done, then the rose-coloured glasses were definitely on to stay. Danny couldn’t live his life as second best to Scott McCall. ‘I can’t stay with you and watch you being around Scott.’

‘Danny…’ Isaac whimpered.

Danny stood up, he knew this was hurting Isaac, hell it was hurting the pair of them. But he would never make Isaac choose. He wasn’t that type of person. And it wouldn’t just be a choice over him or Scott, things were a lot more complicated than that. He wasn’t that naive, but he knew he couldn’t stay here. It was time for him to leave Beacon Hills again, and this time he knew he wouldn’t be returning. ‘I’ll stay with my friends for the time being. But I’m leaving with Jackson when he goes.’

  
  


‘What do you think Ava is?’ Kira glanced to Ethan in surprise. She’d been surprised when they’d offered to take her home. She had her car with her, but they had a point that with the vampires around, you couldn’t be too careful.

She’d invited them in for a drink not actually expecting any of them to accept. But they’d surprised her again. the three of them were so completely different from what she remembered of them before she’d left with the skinwalkers.

‘What do you mean?’ She asked pouring out their drinks, trying to keep her hands, and especially her heartbeat, steady as Ava flashed into her mind’s eye. Instead she tried to concentrate on her surprise when Derek had asked for a hot chocolate.

Jackson laughed. ‘Haven’t you noticed how she always deflects the question? No one knows what she is. Not even Lydia.’

‘What?’ Kira stared at him shocked. Ava seemed so open and eager to talk, or listen, to anything. ‘Surely Stiles does?’

‘Yeah according to Lydia he knows, and Lydia said she does know but Ava hasn’t clarified yet.’ Ethan explained for her. 

Jackson rolled his eyes.

‘So, what is she then?’ Kira asked settling down with her own drink. She didn’t want to come across as too eager to talk about Ava, but the woman was fascinating. Even if she did come across as a little intense, but Kira knew that she came across as geeky and she actually liked the attention. From Ava anyway.

Jackson shrugged. ‘None of them will say.’

‘Seriously?’ Kira stared at him. That surprised her, sure Ava had evaded her question earlier, but she hadn’t thought that there was a reason for that. What was the problem in letting people, friends, know what you are? There was no harm in that. Especially with powerful she was, and Kira knew that Ava was powerful, she had felt it pouring off of her in that clearing in the preserve, and her aura had been so intense and bright, Kira didn’t have a hope in identifying what she was by sight alone.

‘But you sounded as if you have some ideas?’ Derek pushed.

‘Well yeah, but I don’t know what she can do. She could be anything.’ Kira explained. There were hundreds and hundreds of different supernatural creatures out there, and she knew that a lot of them she had probably still never heard of. She knew it was wrong of her, what with Ava dating Stiles, but she hoped that one day, Ava would trust her enough to confide in her. Purely as friends of course. It certainly didn’t hurt that the woman was beautiful. Stiles sure knew how to pick them.

‘Danny said she shifted into a werewolf to kill that first vampire.’ Jackson added helpfully as he took a sip of his coffee, staring at her intently.

‘That rules out half my theories. Phoenix, Nephilim, Seraphim, Amazon’s none of them can shift. And I’ve never heard of a shifter who has that much raw power and magic. Mage possibly, or Sorceress.’ Kira listed with a sigh, trying hard not to think about how attractive and beautiful Ava was. She knew exactly how delicate a werewolf’s sniffer was and really didn't want them taking the piss out of her because she had a crush on Stiles’ girlfriend. ‘But it opens up the possibilities for a whole host of other things she could be.’

‘Like what?’ Derek asked. 

‘Dryad, Nymph, or a Sprite. Maybe an Elf or a Fae or even a Furie. She could be a Vila or hell, even a Whisper.’ Kira listed off the top of her head. She could picture Ava completely at home walking barefoot through a forest, or swimming in a lake. She blinked and had to make herself think of something else before the wolves picked up on it.

‘What were those last two?’

‘A Vila or a Whisper?’ Kira didn’t really think that Ava could be one of them. They were rare, rare to the point that they had been bedtime stories read to her by her mother as a small child. Even her mom wasn’t entirely sure they still existed. The supernatural world was a very secretive one. But with good reason what with hunters existing.

‘Yeah.’

‘A Vila is a sort Nymph, they live in natural areas like forests or mountainous areas or lakes and they can turn into horses, wolves, snakes, swans, falcons… They are powerful as well, have a lot of magic but are peaceful and incredibly hard to find.’ Kira explained. ‘I’ve never met one or someone who has. I’ve only heard stories about them.’

‘And the last one, whisper?’ Ethan asked.

‘A Whisper. No one knows what a Whisper is. All that’s known about them is they are incredible powerful, immortal and have a strict sense of justice.’

‘Have you ever met one?’

‘Well that’s the thing about Whispers. You wouldn’t know if you have ever met one. They can alter their magical signature and appear completely human and normal.’

‘So how do you know they exist then?’

‘I don’t. Others say they do. You know how rumours work.’ Kira admitted with a shrug, but she didn’t doubt her mother's knowledge.

‘Well, the strict sense of justice probably rules out a Whisper then. Ava hates McCall.’ Jackson decided as Ethan snorted his agreement.

‘True. What else can she do?’ Kira enquired, feeling as if she were breaking some confidence talking about Ava like this. She wanted Ava to be the one telling her this.

The three wolves shrugged. ‘Apart from hide her scent? And Stiles’?’

Kira waved her hand dismissively. ‘Any magic user can do that.’

‘So, basically, she could be anything?’ Derek summed up.

Kira nodded slowly. ‘Basically. We can rule a lot of things out, but that still leaves a lot of options. And I do _not_ claim to be an expert on supernatural creatures. I came across a lot that I had never heard of once I left the Skinwalkers. She could be a Valkyrie for all I know.’

The three wolves around her grimaced looking disappointed.

  
  



	14. Chapter 14

  
  
  


Could he be wrong? Scott was sat at the top of the quarry, looking down over Beacon Hills. Could Ava actually be good? He closed his eyes and listened to the muted sounds of wildlife around him, trying to figure out what his gut instinct was telling him. It wasn’t telling him anything. Other than uneasiness. Which, being honest, could be down to anything. Like the fact that vampires were real and were killing people in his territory. But why did his pack seem to trust her?

He turned as he heard footsteps approaching. But he couldn’t sense anything, no scent to go along with whoever was approaching.

‘Who’s there?’ He called out.

‘Only me.’ A voice called out. A female voice. One he recognised.

‘Natalie?’

She smiled as she came into view.

‘You…’ He stared at her a moment, completely taken aback. ‘Your scent?’

‘Oh.’ She laughed. ‘Old trick. Hiding your scent. Anyone with magic can do it.’

‘O-okay.’ Scott frowned, was that a dig at him? Because Stiles and Ava had also hidden their scents. And he’d squarely put the blame on Ava. There was no reason for Stiles to want to hide his scent.

‘Thought it would be best, what with the vampires.’ Natalie said, sitting down next to him and making herself comfortable. ‘I think we need to talk.’

Scott winced. He’d already explained about David. Had gone through everything with both her and her father. In excruciating detail. He really didn’t think he had it in him to talk about it again. ‘Y-Yeah.’

‘I think it’s time I became your emissary.’

Scott felt his jaw drop as he whipped round to stare at her, but she stayed facing forward, looking over the twinkling lights of Beacon Hills. He’d actually given up on her wanting to become his emissary. Deaton had tried to recruit her years ago and all it had resulted in was her starting a relationship with Liam. Scott had originally thought that would entice her over, but he’d been wrong. If Mason hadn’t been in the pack, Scott was pretty sure Liam would have left already to be with her. ‘W-what? Really?’

Natalie nodded. ‘I can’t help but think that if I had already accepted the position, David might still be alive. And I don’t want to have that regret again.’

‘I-I..’ Scott had no idea what she was talking about. He was just pleased that he would finally have an emissary again. It had been really hard when Deaton had left and he still found himself calling and relying on the druid a lot more than he was happy with. He didn’t blame Deaton for wanting to retire, or even for leaving. He had given him plenty of advance notice, not making a secret of it and going out of his way to help and try to find a replacement. Unfortunately, the fact that Beacon Hills was in fact a beacon for the supernatural made it extremely hard to find anyone wanting the position. No one wanted to live and settle down in an area that was more likely to kill you than not. So while he was thrilled that Natalie was finally agreeing to join to his pack, he still didn’t understand what she was talking about. ‘Again?’

‘Liam. I don’t want to be receiving a call telling me that Liam has died and think I might have been able to do something to prevent it.’ Her voice was soft and full of sorrow.

‘O-okay. That’s, that’s, great! Definitely. Are there any specific conditions you want?’ Scott knew that there was a lot more to becoming a pack emissary then just accepting the role. Deaton had drilled it into him. They all had conditions, some wanted to be part of the pack, others wanted to be kept away from the pack with only the Alpha knowing their identity. Some wanted to help fight, others only to advise. A lot depended on their specific skill set, which changed emissary to emissary.

‘Well for starters, you can stop sending Theo to scout for emissary’s. He’s terrible at it.’

Scott snorted, failing at stopping his laugh. Theo could be charming when he wanted to be, but Scott knew how hard it was finding an emissary that was powerful and willing to live in a place prone to danger and death. Which was why he’d given Theo the thankless task, he was much better at persuading people than Scott was. ‘Done.’

‘Peter, however, was much more efficient. It’s a shame he isn’t pack.’

‘Peter?’ Scott stared at her blankly. What the hell did he have to do with this? He was pack-adjacent. Scott didn’t want any of the bullshit he caused to come back and bite him on the arse, or worse destroy his pack because Peter had pissed off the wrong people. ‘Peter Hale?’

‘Yes. He convinced me a long time ago that I should be emissary to your pack. But then I found out that he wasn’t considered pack.’ 

Scott stared at her dumbfounded. ‘Peter... Peter isn’t a good guy.’

‘The world isn’t black and white Scott.’ Natalie replied without looking at him. There was amusement in her voice he didn’t understand. ‘No person is wholly good or wholly bad.’

‘Peter is. And he’s bad.’

‘Peter has been through a lot, and he may be more selfish that you want him to be, but I did not come here tonight to discuss Peter’s merits, or lack of, with you. However, it still stands that he was the one to first convince me.’

‘When?’ Scott asked. ‘You’re making it sound as if this was a long time ago.’

‘It was. Three or so years ago. I held off when I found out that Peter had joined another pack.’

‘What?’ Scott frowned. None of what Natalie was saying was making sense. While she was more forthcoming than Deaton, she still wasn’t making any sense. ‘Peter doesn’t have a pack.’

‘He does. He is very happy with his pack, but he still comes around every so often to check on his daughter.’

‘Malia doesn’t need Peter.’ Scott could feel himself scowling, his girlfriend was better off with her biological father. Scott did not want him as a father-in-law once they got married. Assuming he could talk Malia round, she really didn’t understand the institute of marriage.

‘Of course she doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t care for him or want him around.’

‘But she doesn’t want him around.’ Scott frowned. What was Natalie saying?

Natalie laughed. ‘Are you so sure of that?’

Scott stared at her, bewildered, was she insinuating he didn’t know his own girlfriend? While Deaton was vague and confusing, Natalie was too but in a whole different way. ‘What are you getting at?’

Natalie finally turned to look at him. Her face was serious but her eyes were sad. ‘You need to actually talk to your pack Scott, instead of assuming that you know what is best for them all the time. That is one of the conditions of me becoming your emissary.’

A part of him wanted to snipe that maybe he didn’t want her as his emissary if she thought that Peter was a good guy. But he did want her as his emissary. And he was no longer a kid, he had grown. He nodded his acceptance but he still couldn’t help it, he needed to know more. ‘But really? Peter?!’

‘He wants the best for his daughter.’ She shrugged, having already turned to look out over the town once more. ‘I find it curious that you can forgive Theo but not Peter.’

‘What do you mean?’ Scott asked, how did Theo fit into this conversation?

‘Well, Peter may have bitten you and turned you without your knowledge, but Theo actually killed you and turned you against your best friend. And yet you accept Theo as pack but not Peter.’

‘Peter did a lot more than that.’ Scott muttered before falling silent. As much as he hated to admit it, she did actually have a point, only a tiny one though. He had forgiven Theo. He’d never even thought to give Peter the same consideration. Never thought that Peter would want to be forgiven, or would want to be pack. The fact that Peter was part of a pack, and had been for three years, was a surprise though. How did he not know this? What pack had taken in him? What pack had wanted him?

  
  
  


‘So, what are you keeping from the werewolves?’ Lydia yawned as she padded down to breakfast and accepted the coffee that Ava handed her.

Stiles threw her a smile which she nodded at in return. He had to admit, he missed living with her. It was little moments like these when he realised how much they had moved on and how much time had passed. He would always love her, and while they were a million times better suited as friends than lovers, he missed seeing her every morning. While he loved living with Ava, just the two of them, he missed having a full house, when it was Ava, Lydia, his dad and Melissa. 

No matter how much everyone had gotten on each other’s nerves and needed to disappear to get some time and space alone, including him, especially him after everything he had been through, he had loved the feeling of having people who loved him constantly there. It was a lot easier having someone in the house when you were having a bad day or moment, then having to second guess calling them and waiting, praying, for them to pick up, then having to figure out what to say.

‘Wait, what?’ Noah demanded. ‘What’s going on?’

Stiles winced, knowing his dad wasn’t going to take this well. At least he hadn’t done anything wrong. ‘When we were at the reunion, Isaac got a text from Scott, he’d got another line on the vampires.’

‘You are kidding!’ Noah stared at them in horror. ‘Does he not learn?’

Ava shrugged. ‘There were only three vampires, I think Scott thought him and the rest of his pack would be fine up against just three.’

‘And at least this time he had Derek, Jackson and Ethan.’ Lydia grumbled.

‘Did he even know Jackson and Ethan were back?’ Noah asked. 

Stiles blinked and looked to Lydia, he hadn’t even thought of that, having assumed that Scott had, but he had also assumed they were still allied with Scott, only Jackson’s words and actions had basically said they weren’t. He’d have to pick Lydia’s brain later and find out what she knew, if she was in a mood to tell him that was.

Lydia nodded. ‘Jackson let him know they were coming back. Scott text him after he text Isaac.’

‘What happened?’ Noah asked looking slightly sick.

Ava grinned. ‘Stiles and I handled it.’

Stiles beamed, holding out his fist which she bumped with grin that radiated happiness. It had felt good, showing off his magic in front of his old friends, proving that he was no longer the useless human. Not that he had ever been useless, he’d saved everybody’s arses more than once when not having half the strength or power the others did. And as much as he missed it, he no longer needed his trusted bat. 

He’d been nervous using his magic in front of Scott and he still couldn’t exactly figure out why. He didn’t think that Scott would belittle or degrade him, but he did feel as if Scott would be disappointed or something that he was no longer human. That Scott would somehow make it all about him and take away from the fact that it was Stiles’ accomplishment.

‘Boy did they handle it.’ Lydia muttered.

‘In the name of full disclosure.’ Stiles said trying not to grimace at his dad’s instant worried look. He didn’t know how his dad was going to take this, especially while being out of commission and unable to help. ‘This doesn’t leave this room.’

Lydia and Noah straightened in their seats.

‘We think they have a Seer.’ He said bluntly. ‘And that’s why they’ve come to Beacon Hills. And it probably revolves around the Nemeton.’

‘Why do you think they have a Seer?’ Lydia asked, sounding perplexed. It didn’t surprise him that she knew what they were, even though there hadn’t been any record of one for hundreds of years.

‘What the hell is a Seer?’ Noah demanded, looking lost.

‘A Seer is exactly what it sounds like, someone who sees, they can see the past, future or a present that they aren’t actually present in.’ Ava explained.

‘So, basically a prophet?’ Noah clarified, nodding.

‘Exactly.’ Ava nodded.

‘And again, why do you think the vampires have one?’ Lydia repeated but not unhappily.

‘Last night, the vampires said “she didn’t warn us about them.” There is only one thing that Seer’s can’t see.’

‘What’s that?’ Noah asked while Lydia scrutinised Ava. 

Stiles hid his smile; he was the only one that Ava had confided in about what she was actually was. And by confided, he’d already guessed and she had raised an eyebrow in amusement, smirked and nodded when he’d asked. But it had taken them a long time to get there, to get to that level of trust between them. She had it with Lydia as well, and while Lydia did in fact know what Ava was, Ava just hadn’t confirmed it.

‘Me.’ Ava answered smiling at Lydia. ‘And no, that isn’t written anywhere.’

Noah snorted. ‘Still trying to figure what she is?’

Lydia scowled and pulled her coffee closer to her. ‘I just want confirmation.’

Noah frowned. ‘Why exactly are we keeping this from the others?’

‘To protect them.’ Ava promptly answered. 

‘When has that ever worked in the past?’

Stiles frowned. His dad had a point. He shared a glance with Ava, keeping secrets in Beacon Hills had never helped anyone, in fact, it had done a lot more harm. Should they be telling the werewolves? Or at least the ones that Stiles was currently on good terms with? He just wasn’t sure if telling Isaac meant telling Scott. Could Isaac keep this quiet from Scott, or better question, would he?

  
  
  


‘Does this mean we’re friends?’ Stiles asked sounding grumpy as he entered the coffee shop. ‘Getting passive aggressive texts demanding we meet you places?’

Derek had to look away before Jackson hit him. He knew his scent would have spiked with longing, and possibly more, the moment Stiles walked in. Jackson had already sent him a worried glance but even though they were currently living in the same town, he was barely getting to see him.

‘Shut up and sit-down Stilinski.’ Jackson ordered with an eye roll, but Derek could hear the underlying affection.

‘I feel the love.’ Stiles joked but walked around the table and took a seat next to Derek. He was pleased but surprised, especially when Ava grabbed Kira’s hand and towed her after them.

‘So, how did you two meet?’ Ethan asked, looking at Stiles and Ava once everyone had settled and the waitress had taken their drinks order.

Derek tensed. He did not want to hear this; he didn’t need a re-telling of how his mate had met and fallen in love with someone else. He felt Jackson kick Ethan under the table and saw his wince but couldn’t even feel grateful. His teeth were clenched so tight he knew he wouldn’t even be able to take a sip of his coffee.

‘Me and Ava?’ Stiles checked, looking and sounding surprised.

‘Yeah.’ Ethan nodded hesitantly.

‘Lydia.’ Stiles replied, looking as he was trying hard not to wince.

Lydia ignored them all, tapping away on her phone. She’d only raised her eyes once, to look at Derek when Ethan had asked his question.

‘Lydia? Lydia set you up?’ Jackson repeated, his jaw dropping open.

Lydia raised her eyes a moment to glare at him. ‘Got a problem with that?’ She asked sweetly.

Derek didn’t understand what was happening but was already looking for a way to escape, going though excuses in his mind as to why he had to leave so suddenly.

Ava frowned and leant into Stiles. ‘You know what he’s talking about?’

Stiles shook his head. ‘Err. What do you mean set us up? Ava and I aren’t dating.’

Derek’s head whipped around to stare at them. His body instantly deflating. ‘You’re not?’

‘You’re not?’ Kira repeated, also sounding surprised but Derek couldn’t take his eyes off of Stiles. His heartbeat was steady so he wasn’t lying. Derek just wished he could smell his scent, know what he was feeling. He hated it being hidden from him and couldn’t understand why Stiles had.

‘No.’ Stiles looked alarmed. ‘Have you not seen her making heart eyes at Kira?’

Kira choked, her cheeks turning pink as Derek quickly glanced at her and then back to Stiles. He couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening here. Stiles wasn’t dating Ava? Stiles wasn’t dating Ava. Ava had a thing for Kira. Stiles wasn’t with Ava. But that didn’t mean he was single.

Ava nodded, flashing Kira a smile. ‘It’s true, I have been.’

‘So, y-you’re single?’ Derek stuttered, instantly hating himself.

‘Smooth.’ He heard Jackson mutter quietly, so quietly he knew only the wolves would be able to pick it up. And as all the wolves present already knew of his feelings, he promptly ignored him.

‘Yep.’ Stiles threw him a self-deprecating smile.

‘When-when did you and Lydia break up?’ Derek asked haltingly, why was he doing this? He used to have control over his mouth but suddenly he’d seemed to have lost that ability. And why wasn’t someone else asking these questions for him?

‘Oh, six or seven years ago.’ Stiles shrugged, as if the information was old and boring, which to him it probably was, but to Derek, it meant everything. 

Stiles and Lydia had broken up years ago, the woman he’d been in love with for most of his life, and he wasn’t dating Ava. 

Derek wasn’t sure what that meant though, did it mean he had a chance? Stiles could very well be straight, there weren’t any men that he’d dated that Derek knew about, but then Derek didn’t know what his dating life was like after Lydia. Which apparently covered six or seven years. And Stiles certainly hadn’t acted as if he was one hundred percent straight when he’d known him.

Derek fell silent, not knowing what to say as he tried to let the information filter in. He took a breath and stared at the table.

Jackson’s leg kicking him made him look up. Stiles was still staring at him, looking concerned and as if he was waiting for Derek to say something more.

Derek frowned as he tried to think of something to say. ‘It’s brilliant that you’re still such good friends after everything.’

‘Err, after what?’ Stiles asked, his confusion evident.

Derek froze, ‘Erm, well, didn’t...?’ he trailed off feeling like a rabbit caught in headlights as his gaze whipped between Stiles and Lydia.

Lydia glanced up curious and raised a perfectly plucked elegant eyebrow in question.

‘Didn’t what?’ Stiles questioned.

‘Nothing.’ Derek grumbled with a glance at Jackson.

‘Were you about to say didn’t I cheat on Stiles?’ Lydia asked calmly. 

Deceptively calmly. While Derek didn’t know her well, he still knew not to believe her act. Apparently so did Jackson, who shrunk back in his seat.

‘Err.’ Derek stared at Lydia in alarm.

‘What? No!’ Stiles frowned. ‘Why would you think she… Jackson! Did you tell everyone Lydia cheated on me because you don’t listen! Oh my God! What is wrong with you? Lydia isn’t a cheater! She would never lie to me like that. Why would you think she would? Why would you even tell people that?’

Derek was grinning towards the end of Stiles’ monologue though and it was a relief that he thought it was funny, especially for his new strange friendship with Jackson.

Ethan laughed and slapped his husband on the arm. ‘Oh, he told our whole pack.’

‘Wait, you guys are Derek’s pack?’ Stiles stared at them in horror. ‘Oh man, Derek, my condolences.’

‘Shut up Stilinski.’ Jackson snarled instantly defensive. His entire posture had begun to cave in on himself. Derek recognised it as one of Jackson’s instincts to protect himself. He opened his mouth to jump to Jackson’s defence but Stiles was already talking again.

‘It does make sense though.’ Stiles continued as if oblivious to Jackson’s dilemma. ‘I totally see it. All the signs were there, I can’t believe I didn’t put it together.’

‘What does?’ Derek asked slowly. ‘What signs?’

‘You guys being pack.’ Stiles answered simply. ‘That’s how you knew where Derek lived, there was no other way you’d have gotten there so quickly the night Isaac was bit. And Derek calmed down when Jackson touched his arm the night of the reunion.’

‘About time you admitted it.’ Lydia smirked, straightening in her seat and taking a delicate sip of her latte. Her scent emanated her smugness.

‘You did not know.’ Jackson glared at her.

‘Oh please.’ She waved her hand dismissively. ‘Why else would you not allow me to visit your pack? Unless I knew them.’

‘She has a point.’ Ethan admitted as he rubbed Jackson’s back while he grumbled. He could feel that Jackson was feeling a little put out but was still content.

Derek remained quiet, he’d told Jackson repeatedly that he thought Lydia had already guessed and was just toying with him. Nor did he have to tell his packmate “told you so”, the smug look he sent him did it for him.

‘So who’s your Alpha?’ Stiles continued.

‘None of your damn business.’ Jackson muttered, but loud enough for the whole table to hear. He came across as more petulant than hostile though, and Derek doubted that was what he’d been aiming for.

Derek didn’t exactly disagree, but wished Jackson had been a lot more diplomatic than that. He’d managed to keep the identity of his pack quiet the entire time he’d been here, and between Jackson and Ethan, they’d inadvertently just told four people. They hadn’t even been here a week.

‘Touchy.’ Stiles replied as he took a big gulp of his coffee, but his tone rang with amusement rather than insulted.

‘The less McCall knows about us, the less he can fuck up our lives.’ Jackson snarled, actually coming across as hostile this time.

Stiles nodded. ‘Harsh, but accurate.’

‘As if we’d tell that moron anything.’ Ava huffed.

‘Tell it how you mean it.’ Stiles grinned at her.

Derek watched as she smiled back, half chuckling before catching Kira’s eye. Ava blushed and squeezed Kira’s hand. He blinked, when had that happened? ‘Sorry. I know you dated him.’

Kira winced but rubbed her thumb across the back of Ava’s hand. ‘Don’t worry about it. I have since had my eyes opened.’

Jackson frowned. ‘What did he do?’

‘Turned me away when the skinwalkers let me go.’ Kira shrugged but Derek could smell the lingering hurt that she’d tried to hide. ‘I mean, I hadn’t expected him to wait for me or anything, but I still thought I would have been pack you know?’

‘I know what you mean.’ Amusement laced Stile’s voice but he’d failed to make it as light hearted as he’d probably meant it to be. Derek could easily guess what emotions Stiles would be emitting if he hadn’t hidden his scent. Was that why he’d done it?

‘About that Stiles.’ Derek winced. He knew he needed to apologise for his role in that, and even though now wasn’t the right time, it was better than never.

‘Relax big guy.’ Stiles half slapped him on his shoulder, half caressed his shoulder. Derek could feel the warmth of his hand through his jacket and for a second thought that Stiles was going to leave it there. ‘I knew that wasn’t you.’

‘Y-you did?’

Stiles grinned at him. ‘Course. Why do you think I went straight to Scott after our little chat?’

Derek nodded and looked down at his lap. He was still ashamed over the role he’d played in it all and wished that he could go back in time and change it all. There was so much he would change if he had a do-over, starting with his family.

He felt Stiles lean into him. ‘Hey, I mean it. I never held any blame towards you. Sure, I’ve always wondered why you did it, why you went along with Scott. And maybe someday you’ll tell me. But I’ve never held any ill will towards you. Not about that. Plenty of other things, but not about that.’

Derek frowned. his mind latching on to one thing. ‘What other things?’

‘Seriously dude? “What other things?” How about when you wanted me to saw your arm off? Traumatised me for life. Or when I held your heavy paralysed arse up in the water for hours and didn’t even get a thank you?! Or when you told me leave to go help Scott in Mexico and promptly died! Or when my toe got shot off saving your arse from the FBI?’ Stiles ranted.

Derek couldn’t help his grin. There was the Stiles he knew and loved. The one who could never stay still or silent for long. The one he’d thought he’d lost and then maybe gone forever with how quiet, calm and un-Stiles like he’d been acting. 

But here he was, sitting right next to him, leaning into him, hands flailing everywhere, narrowly avoiding maiming innocent passer-by’s as he ranted about Derek.

  
  
  


‘Hey Jordan.’ Stiles said as the current acting Sheriff let himself in. ‘Fresh coffee in the kitchen.’

‘Thanks. I’m gonna need it.’

‘Why? What’s happened?’ Stiles asked, instantly alarmed. It was never a good thing when a officer of the law needed caffeine the second they stepped into your house.

‘Is your dad here?’ Jordan winced. ‘He should hear this too.’

‘What’s happened?’ His dad wheeled himself in from the kitchen, closely followed by Lydia and Ava.

‘Jordan?’ Lydia asked, her face lighting up in a smile.

‘Hey Lyds.’ Jordan returned her smile. Stiles noticed that his shoulders relaxed just a noticeable amount as she entered the room. He vaguely wondered if Jordan was Lydia’s mysterious texter, but they did have a history together. Although it mainly unresolved sexual tension. At least Stiles thought it had been unresolved. Maybe he was wrong, or maybe they were unresolving it now. He’d tease her about it later.

‘There’s been another death. The Sheriff in Oak Creek called me this morning. The body was found late last night and had been there a couple of days by the time hikers stumbled across it.’

‘Shit.’ Stiles muttered. He didn’t need to be the son of a sheriff to know where this was heading.

‘Same MO as the vampires?’ Ava asked.

Jordan nodded. ‘Exactly the same. Male victim, young, looks to have been mauled over all major arteries and drained of blood. Working theory is a serial killer who’s on the move.’

‘But the vampires haven’t left.’ Lydia stated, staring at Jordan intently.

‘No, they’re just feeding elsewhere.’ Ava stated, sounding annoyed.

‘What does that mean?’ Jordan asked shrugging and looking a little lost. Stiles had always loved figuring out this part, but Jordan didn’t sound as enraptured about it.

‘That they want to stay. Only they’re now worried.’ Ava explained simply.

‘Worried?’ His dad cut in.

Ava grinned, looking more than a little evil. ‘Well, this was before Stiles killed three of them but after I’d killed one. So they were aware of us, or of there being a danger to them, and were either being cautious or feeding someplace safer.’

‘And now that three more of them are dead?’ Jordan asked. Stiles knew he would be trying to figure out how many civilians could be lost to this and what he could do to prevent those losses.

‘They’re going to be laying low.’ Stiles summed up. ‘Trying to hide from us. They know we can kill them, they won’t want to lose any more of their numbers.’

‘Or they’ll go on the defensive.’ Ava shrugged.

‘Or they must hurry up their plan, which may mean mistakes.’ Lydia added, looking thoughtful.

‘Maybe.’

‘Have they ID’d the victim?’ Noah asked.

Jordan nodded. ‘By the time he was found, he’d already been reported missing.’

‘With less vampires now, they won’t need to feed as often.’

‘But they will still need to feed. There’s still, what, about six of them?’

‘Assuming there were ten to start, yeah.’ Ava nodded.

‘So how do we find them?’ Jordan asked.

‘We’re working on that.’ Ava smiled at him.

Stiles frowned when Jordan just nodded, accepting it. He was acting Sheriff; shouldn’t he want to be involved or have a least a temporary plan in place?

‘I was just about to go on a coffee run, care to join me?’ Lydia smiled up at him.

‘Sure.’ Jordan grinned back at her.

‘We’ve just bought a brand-new coffee machine for you!’ Stiles declared indignantly, ignoring Ava when she jabbed her elbow into his side.

‘And I fancy some fresh air.’ Lydia glared at him just as the doorbell went. ‘Go see who that is.’

Stiles rolled his eyes and saluted. ‘Yes ma’am.’

He got up and winced too late when he realised that Lydia and Parrish were actually flirting with each other. He’d apologise later and maybe Stiles would be quizzing Lydia on her love life rather than teasing her.

‘Hey, I think I’ve found something.’ Danny said the instant Stiles opened the door.

‘Erm okay.’ Stiles blinked, then noticed the laptop in his hands. He instantly opened the door wider for Danny to enter. ‘Oh! Oh my God! That’s incredible! What have you found? Can we track them? Do you know where they’re staying?’

Danny grinned at him, then slightly winced. ‘Not exactly. Someone has been buying the items you gave me. Only it’s not just one person.’

Stiles frowned. ‘So, you’re thinking different people or we’ve got names on several vampires?’

Danny shrugged. ‘Or made up names. But that’s not the problem. The problem is the different addresses given.’

‘Oh shit.’ Stiles muttered. Even with Jordan’s help it wouldn’t be easy tracking them down, but at least they could get checks on all the ID’s used and verify them, assuming Danny hadn’t already done that. Although Danny would come into his own on this, not having to go through the red tape that the police did.

‘Yeah, only all the addresses are PO boxes.’ Danny continued.

That wasn’t good. Anyone could rent out a PO box as long as they had ID. And with how easy it was to get fake ID… Not only that but to find out who the boxes belonged to they’d have to stake them out. Assuming they were still waiting on deliveries and with the speed at which vampires could move, magic would have to be used, which vampires could also sense.

‘How many are you talking about?’ Jordan interrupted.

‘Five.’ Danny answered instantly, not even blinking at Jordan’s presence.

‘Five different PO boxes?’ Stiles repeated. It wasn’t unheard of but it was possible. ‘All with different names?’

Danny nodded. ‘But the fact that all of them are PO boxes made me suspicious, even if they’re not all in Beacon Hills.’

‘Wait? What?’ Stiles flailed. Officially Jordan wouldn’t be able to help with the ones outside of Beacon Hills. The Sheriff’s department would be useless for those ones.

‘Yeah, that was the other bad news.’ Danny winced.

‘You really need to learn how to give bad news. Is there any more?’ Stiles asked, rolling his eyes, but he couldn’t help but smile.

Jordan snorted but had a little notebook out, jotting things down.

Danny shook his head. ‘No but there is more news. It’s not bad, but I don’t think it would fall under the category of good either.’

‘Lay it on me, my man.’

‘I researched several of the items, and they were all pretty rare. So I looked into who bought them. And none of these items have ever been brought or shipped to Beacon Hills or the surrounding areas. All previous purchases were made by reputable repeat buyers. Repeat buyers who don’t live anywhere near Beacon Hills.’

‘What are these items?’ Jordan frowned. 

‘Just things that Stiles and I think the vampires might be using.’ Ava said vaguely. 

Stiles was surprised when Jordan just bought it and didn’t question it any further. His dad certainly had and now knew just as much about those herbs as he did. And Jordan was just as curious as his dad was.

Stiles grinned at Danny. ‘And let me guess, all these Beacon Hills buyers are first time shoppers?’

Danny grinned at him. ‘Exactly.’

‘Danny.’ Noah said from behind Stiles making him jump. ‘You want to do the honours and add it the board?’

‘Hell yes!’ Danny exclaimed excitedly.

‘Might as well call the others and get them over as well.’ Noah called over his shoulder as he turned his chair around.

‘Is that a good idea?’ Lydia asked pointedly.

Danny deflated. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’

‘It’s not you.’ Stiles automatically replied but couldn’t hide his wince.

‘Then what is it?’

Stiles sighed. He looked at Ava.  _ I think we should tell them. _

_ Your choice. _ She smiled at him.

_ They’ll be more likely to listen knowing the full story. _

_ I’m not telling them what I am. _

He grinned.  _ Would never expect you to. _

‘Call the others. We’ll tell you together.’ Stiles nudged Danny affectionately. ‘Come on, I’ll show you our war room.’

‘War  _ room _ ?’ Danny gaped at him.

‘Yeah, we needed more room that just the board.’

Danny nodded hesitantly and followed Stiles upstairs to his dad’s old room. ‘Holy Shit.’

‘Yeah’ Stiles smiled. They’d basically swapped around this room with the one his dad was currently staying in until he could get up the stairs again. Gone was his dad’s bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, and in their place was a couple sofas, two desks, a couple white boards and a few cork boards littering all of the walls. 

The cork boards had events pinned up to it with different coloured yarns leading to other events. The vampires were in the centre with most of the yarn leading back to them. Above them was the word Seer written with one red coloured yarn leading to it and above that was a picture of the Nemeton with a yellow coloured yarn leading to that.

‘What’s with the tree?’ Danny asked confused.

‘We’ll explain when the others get here.’

‘Jackson and Ethan are just pulling up. Derek will be a few minutes more.’ Lydia informed them.

‘And Kira?’ Stiles asked.

‘I’m here.’

He turned surprised to see her here already.

Kira blushed. ‘I was already on my way over when Ava called.’

‘Oh really?’ Stiles grinned at her as her face turned bright red.

Kira cleared her throat. ‘What is this room?’

‘Our war room. Detailing everything that may be of interest.’

She nodded and silently wandered around the room, looking intently at everything.

‘Danny found those items?’ Jackson asked a few minutes later when they trooped back downstairs.

‘Sort of.’ Danny replied sourly. ‘Although it seems we’ve been kept in the dark on something.’

‘What?’ Jackson’s face darkened.

‘Not exactly kept in the dark.’ Stiles sighed. This was the problem with not telling people things, they instantly thought secrets were being kept that they were entitled to know and understandably got upset. ‘Just not informed.’

‘What is going on?’ Derek asked from the doorway, panting.

‘Dude!’ Stiles gaped at him. Derek had certainly not lost any of sex appeal in the almost decade he’d been gone. And it seemed he still took his physical fitness just as seriously. Stiles was certain he would still be able to crack an egg on those abs.

‘Don’t call me dude.’ Derek glared at him even as his ear tips pinked. Stiles felt himself practically melt as he noticed. ‘And I was out running when you guys called.’

‘They’ve been lying to us.’ Jackson snarled, his face thunderous.

‘We have not been lying.’ Ava cut in sharply throwing him a glare. ‘You’re werewolves, you can tell when someone lies.’

‘Fine, but you haven’t been telling us everything either.’ Jackson pouted.

‘Jackson.’ Noah said, a note of disappointment in his voice.

Stiles stared in surprise when Jackson visibly deflated and looked contrite.

‘With good reason.’ Stiles said quickly, shaking himself out of his surprise and grabbing hold of Derek as he saw the hurt flash across his face. He pulled him in and into the lounge where his dad could easily follow them. ‘We’re also trusting you not to tell anyone else this. This has to be kept quiet.’

‘And we don’t know who you’re Alpha is, but unless they get involved, they can’t know either.’ Ava added. ‘It’s not a nice position to put you in, but unless you trust us with the identity of your Alpha than you can’t tell them this.’

‘It’s not that we don’t trust you.’ Derek began instantly.

‘Exactly.’ Stiles cut in. This was a perfect example to get across why they hadn’t been informed. ‘That’s exactly why we didn’t tell you this when we found out.’

Derek winced, looking resigned but he nodded. He was holding himself stiffly, completely differently to the relaxed Derek that Stiles had been getting to know. 

Stiles huffed and manhandled Derek onto one of the sofas, sitting down right next to him. Maybe a little to close than was socially acceptable, but Derek was a werewolf, they thrived on touch and affection. Stiles doubted anyone was say anything. Well, Jackson might.

‘Do I know this?’ Jordan asked looking lost. 

Stiles wasn’t surprised to see him holding Lydia’s hand as she tugged him through and sat down next to him a lot more closely than Stiles was sat with Derek. She raised a smug eyebrow at him.

‘Not yet.’ Noah huffed as his chair came to stop at the end of the longest sofa. 

Stiles had to shuffle up, inwardly pleased when he pressed closer to Derek, to make room for Ava and Kira on the same sofa while Jackson and Ethan chose to lean against the wall. Derek started fidgeting with his hands, as if unsure of what to do with them or where to put them. Stiles wanted to reach out and hold them but stopped himself. Derek didn’t feel that way about him. He never had and was probably feeling caged in with so many people squashed onto the sofa. 

Although his reaction to finding out that Stiles was single was interesting, but Stiles still found the thought of them believing he was dating Ava hilarious. He couldn’t believe how long it had taken them to actually mention it to either of them. Stiles would have set them all straight instantly if they’d actually said or even hinted anything about it.

‘So, what are you about to tell us then?’ Jackson grumbled, leaning into Ethan’s side.

Stiles sighed. ‘Something the vampires said the night of the reunion made us realise they aren’t working alone.’

He could feel Derek’s warmth along his entire side and the slight movement of his chest in rhythm with his breathing. It was more reassuring than Stiles had expected.

‘Or on their own accord. Someone is in charge of them.’ Ava continued.

‘That would explain why they came here to Beacon Hills with all this daylight and sun.’ Danny nodded, looking more willing to listen to them than the three werewolves.

‘Are you sure?’ Ethan asked. ‘From what we’ve learnt about vampires, they do not like working with others.’

‘We can’t prove it, but we’re pretty sure.’ Stiles admitted, throwing his dad a quick look.

Noah nodded his head at him, as if silently telling him he was doing a good job and to keep going.

‘What then?’ Derek asked, crossing his arms and slightly jostling Stiles. ‘What would they be willing to work with?’

Stiles stared as the action made his biceps bulge.

‘The vampires are being led by a Seer.’ Ava said simply. Stiles was pleased she’d taken the lead, it allowed him to stare a little bit more.

‘They don’t exist.’ Derek immediately said. A scowl on his face.

‘Partially true.’ Ava corrected. ‘They have been rumoured to have become extinct.’

‘What do you mean rumoured?’ Ethan asked uneasily.

Stiles blinked himself out of his trance and to pay attention again. Derek frowned at him and Stiles smiled sheepishly back.

‘The ability of a Seer is not hereditary. It cannot be passed from one person to another. Some soul’s,’ Ava shrugged. ‘just have this ability.’

Stiles watched Derek flare his nostrils as he scrutinised Ava. Technically Ava wasn’t lying, but she also couldn’t just go telling people willy nilly about the Trials and what she was. It would cause uproar. It was hard to learn but there were ways around lying and Ava had been around long enough to learn.

He decided to let Ava do all of the talking, this way he could surreptitiously watch Derek and with his scent hidden, not a single wolf would be able to smell his attraction or arousal. It was a win win.

‘And why do you think this?’ Jackson demanded.

‘The night of the reunion. They said “She didn’t tell us about them.” Meaning Stiles and I.’ Ava began.

‘That could mean anything.’ Derek said softly with a sigh that blatantly said he didn’t believe them. Stiles sent him a look and nudged him, surprised but pleased when Derek returned it.

‘And yet the vampires knew about the werewolves, they weren’t surprised when more arrived or when a Banshee and Kitsune turned up. Bearing in mind Banshee’s and Kitsune’s are more likely to win in a fight against vampires than werewolves are.’

‘What?’ Jackson asked sounding vaguely affronted. ‘How would Lydia win against a vampire when I wouldn’t?’

Stiles snorted, even though he knew it wasn’t Jackson’s werewolf superiority complex showing but a genuine question.

‘I do have a powerful scream Jackson.’ Lydia said dryly but she was smiling.

‘One that can make a vampire combust.’ Ava cut in. ‘And the sword of a Kitsune, especially the one that Kira wields, can mortally injure a vampire.’

‘Are you serious? My scream could make a vampire combust?’ Lydia asked looking vaguely grossed out.

‘Why would my sword especially injure a vampire?’ Kira asked.

‘Because I gifted it to your mother a very long time ago.’ Ava admitted quietly.

Kira stared at Ava. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. 

Stiles hid his smile, Kira obviously knew how long ago her mother had obtained that sword if her reaction was anything to go by. It seemed only druids and magic users had heard of Ava, or rather had heard how long she was rumoured to have been around for.

Derek was also staring at her in surprise, his eyebrows raised as he sniffed, although Stiles had no idea what he attempting to sniff out. Ava’s scent as hidden just like his and even if it hadn’t been, Derek couldn’t sniff out someone’s age. 

‘What?’ Ethan asked, frowning at her. 

‘Mom had that sword for a couple hundred years before she gave it to me.’ Kira said slowly, her eyes not moving from Ava.

‘Yes.’ Ava nodded, with a smug smile on her face. ‘Since the sixteen hundreds actually.’

‘How old are you?’ Jackson asked with an edge of horror in his voice but the awe far outweighed it.

‘Jackson. It’s very rude to ask a lady that question.’ Ava tutted but winked at him. ‘Let’s just say, I was already an old lady when Jesus died for your sins.’

Stiles rolled his eyes.

‘So this is how you know about Seer’s?’ Derek asked. Ava nodded. ‘And Seer’s can’t see you or Stiles? Whatever you are?’

‘They can’t see me. They can see Stiles, but he hasn’t performed much magic here and when he has, he’s always been with me. She possibly doesn’t know he’s supernatural.’

‘But she’ll have guessed that I am, what with hanging around you and all.’ Stiles grinned at her, feeling Derek suddenly tense and then relax again. He turned to him but Derek wasn’t looking at him.

‘And why do you think a Seer brought vampires here?’ Jordan cut in, looking as if he was only just following along.

‘I’m still working on that.’ Ava admitted. ‘But vampires are more in tune to magical signatures than a lot of magical creatures.’

‘You think the Seer brought the vampires here to find something magical?’ Derek concluded as realisation fell across his face. ‘The Nemeton.’

Stiles patted his knee, grinning as he nodded at him. Derek raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t stop his hand or move his knee out of the way.

‘Possibly.’ Ava allowed. ‘I just don’t understand why. Or why this nemeton is one of seven. Nemetons are common, there are hundreds, so what makes this one special?’

All the wolves frowned. But it was Derek who spoke. ‘Deaton said it’s at the centre of several telluric currents and is a beacon to all supernatural creatures.’

Stiles had stopped patting his knee but had left his hand half on his own, half on Derek’s and Derek hadn’t made an attempt to dislodge him. What did this mean?

‘Yes, I think I need a word with this Deaton.’ Ava said, her eyes flashing to Stiles.

‘Good luck.’ Jackson snorted. ‘Never met a more cryptic arsehole ever.’

Stiles nodded in agreement. He’d never had a problem with the druid though, apart from his strange and sometimes downright confusing answers.

‘Hmm. And he was your emissary?’ Ava asked with a glance towards Derek.

He nodded stiffly but still didn’t move Stiles’ hand. It was getting to the point that Stiles wanted to because he could no longer keep still. ‘He’s always been vague and ambiguous with his comments.’

‘But he was still helpful?’ Ava checked.

Derek squirmed uncomfortably and Stiles finally moved his hand, but only to rest his other one reassuringly on Derek’s arm. ‘Not when I was Alpha, and certainly not with Laura. I don’t know if he was with my mom.’

‘And how long has this nemeton been here?’ Ava asked.

Stiles shrugged, dropping his hand and looking around to the others who looked as clueless as he was. What else could he do to touch Derek naturally in a way that wouldn’t raise questions? He stilled when he caught sight of Lydia’s smug knowing expression. He silently huffed and slouched further into his seat which had the inadvertent bonus of pushing Derek closer to him.

‘Hundreds of years I think.’ Derek finally answered, not seeming to notice the fact that they were basically plastered against each other. ‘It’s in loads of stories about my family and their history. It was cut down sometime around the 1950’s. No one knows exactly when it happened or who did it but it was before my mother’s reign. She never spoke of it being a tree but always a stump.’

Ava froze. ‘Cut down? It was cut down?! But still lived?’

Derek squirmed and Stiles took the opportunity to lean on him. ‘It was resurrected with the blood of a virgin by accident.’

‘And it swayed between good and evil after that?’ Ava asked distantly, staring off at something.

‘Yeah. How did you know?’ Derek glanced at Stiles quickly but he shrugged trying to look innocent. 

He could have told Ava that but he honestly wasn’t sure. And the way Ava was talking was as if this was all new information to her. But she seemed to have gone off into her own head, as if what she was thinking was upsetting her. She definitely wasn’t happy about something. He frowned and took his attention away from Derek.

‘What are you thinking?’ Stiles asked her.

‘I'm pretty sure I know what this nemeton is, and if I’m right, we have to stop that Seer from ever finding it.’ Ava said quietly, her eyes unfocused and her voice sounding heartbroken.

‘Ava?’ Stiles asked quietly, sitting forward to look at her. He hadn’t seen her like this often or this badly affected. Whatever she now thought the nemeton was, it was upsetting or worrying her a great deal.

‘It could fit.’ She mumbled and shrugged, looking lost.

‘Hang on.’ Derek said loudly, gaining everyone’s attention and snapping Ava back with them. ‘Getting back on track, why would a Seer bring vampires here to find the Nemeton? It has to want to be found. If it doesn’t want the Seer to find it, it won’t let her find it.’

‘That will be why she brought the vampires, to reign destruction by keeping the local werewolf pack busy, and for lack of a better term, to sniff it out.’ Stiles answered for Ava, allowing her a moment to think.

‘How?’ Jackosn asked bluntly.

‘Vampires, by their very nature, are near to death, but not as close to the divide as a banshee. A banshee would easily be able to find the nemeton, as would a hellhound.’ Ava looked at Lydia and she nodded. Stiles could remember back at high school, Lydia repeatedly drawing the nemeton. And Jordan taking the supernatural dead bodies to it. ‘But a Banshee would never help a Seer, and a Seer would not be able to seek out a Hellhound.’

‘Why not?’ Lyida asked curiously.

Stiles leant back, pressing himself into Derek once more, he wondered how long he could everyone here talking so he could stay in this position.

‘Because Seer’s can change predictability. For example, a Seer can see a disaster happening, and find a way to prevent it. A Banshee depends on that predictability with their scream. Their scream ensures that predictability, only banshee’s don’t see it ahead of time like a Seer sometimes can.’

‘And a Hellhound?’

‘Well, while the Seer can see Jordan, she won’t be able to see the hellhound in him. But even if she could, a Hellhound is like a guardian, they protect. So, for example, Jordan took dead supernatural bodies to the nemeton once yes? He protected the supernatural from being found out and he protected the bodies, taking them somewhere safe, to the nemeton. He did this nemetons bidding.’

Stiles frowned at her, wondering about her wording. ‘He did the Nemeton’s bidding?’

She smiled, there was a knowing look to her eyes. ‘Yes, a Hellhound would have been pulled to help out this nemeton in a time of need.’

‘Okay. That’s confusing.’ Ethan blinked.

Stiles looked at Ava a moment, but decided not to ask more just then. He’d ask later when they could talk freely and with no one staring at them wondering what the hell was going on when they spoke silently with each other.

Ava grinned. ‘However, vampires, like banshee’s have a similar sense of the supernatural.’

‘You want to find something that doesn’t want to be found, you get yourself a vampire.’ Derek concluded.

‘Exactly.’

‘So, what does this Seer want with the Nemeton?’ Ethan asked.

‘The Nemetom is incredibly powerful.’ Derek said. ‘It’s worked in harmony with my family to protect the land for years. In all the stories, they were distraught when they found it cut down.’

‘Interesting.’ Ava whispered.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, nemeton’s are sacred places, always in nature, usually a wooded grove, where druids would the place a shrine or temple or use it as such. But there are hundreds of them. Not just the seven that Stiles told me about. Nor do they have any power to them, but the way you describe this nemeton is as if it’s sentient.’

Derek frowned at her. ‘Yeah, it’s always been like that. Deaton said it was sentient as well.’

‘Really?’ Ava’s voice was harsh and cold. ‘I definitely need a word with this Deaton then.’

‘What are you thinking?’ Stiles asked worried. He wasn’t sure what was going on but whatever Ava had figured out had upset and angered her. And no one ever wanted to see an angry Ava. He’d seen her angry once, but this? This was a different angry, one that gave him chills. This anger was colder and more lethal and prone to sticking around rather than the hot tempered anger that dissipated once those responsible had paid.

‘If this nemeton is what I think it is and Deaton knew? Then he needs to pay for his crimes.’ Ava’s voice was controlled but Stiles could hear the fury that ran underneath it. He prayed that Deaton didn’t know, otherwise he doubted that he would be alive for much longer.

‘Are you going to tell us what you think the Nemeton is?’ Jackson demanded.

‘No.’

Stiles could see that Ava was still too worked to be anything other than blunt.

‘Wait, she’s a Seer, can she just see where it is?’ Jordan asked sounding confused.

‘If the nemeton is what I think it is, then no the Seer can’t see it.’ Ava replied softly.

‘Shit.’ Stiles said at the same time as Lydia did. They both stared at her in horror. Stiles knew what Ava thought the nemeton was.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic attack and mention of torture
> 
> The panic attack is detailed (about two-thirds of the way down the chapter, after the arguing if you want to skip it), the torture is not detailed.

  
  


Liam grinned at Natalie and squeezed her hand. 

She gladly accepted the reassurance. She still wasn’t a hundred percent convinced she was doing the right thing, but she loved Liam and would never be able to forgive herself if there was another battle with the remaining vampires and he died.

‘I’m pleased to announce that Natalie Grant has agreed to become our emissary. We welcome her into our pack and place our trust in her as she places her trust in us.’ Scott was saying and she quickly threw him a winning smile.

‘Thank you Scott.’ Natalie said as she stepped forward and allowed the smile to drop from her face. ‘I know these circumstances aren’t exactly the best, so we’ll hold off on any celebrations. I’m here to help however I can.’

‘And how exactly can you help?’ Theo asked, his arms crossed in front of him. 

She didn’t like him, he had a bad aura surrounding him and Liam had filled her in on every pack members history. She didn’t know how Liam had forgiven him for what he had done, but then she didn’t think Liam had all the facts or had put together everything that Theo had done like she had. Connecting dots were part of an emissary’s job after all.

‘Well, I know more about vampires than you evidently do and I can also protect myself against them.’ Natalie replied keeping her voice even and friendly. ‘I also want to know everything you all do about that couple who took out those three vampires.’

Now those two were interesting. Before she’d felt that wall that one of them had put up, she would have sworn blind they were both human with no magic in them at all. To be able to hide that, meant they were powerful, or at least that one was. Magic always left a trace. Except theirs. Which meant that while they could still be a number of rare and powerful supernatural beings, it eliminated a lot that didn’t have the power that at least one of them exuded. But they had both displayed power. One was unusual, but two was unheard of, especially if they were travelling, although it might explain why Stiles had never returned after he’d left. He’d found a kindred spirit and had stayed with her, only returning for his injured father. 

‘Stiles?’ Scott frowned. ‘We’re meeting him and Ava tonight to find out what she is and what she’s done to him.’

Natalie frowned not completely understanding. ‘What she’s done to Stiles? Wait, did you say Ava?’

‘Yeah, you know her?’

‘No.’ Natalie shook her head but she knew she heard the name before. She could vaguely remember it being said by members of her coven in hushed tones. And hushed tones meant a powerful being. ‘But the name is ringing a bell. I recognise that name somehow. Let me speak to my father, see if he has more information. But she’s incredibly powerful, they both were.’

‘Well, Stiles shouldn’t be.’ Scott’s expression darkened.

‘What do you mean?’ This was what she was talking about when she’d told Scott that a condition of hers for joining would be communication. She needed to know everything as did the senior and trusted pack members. No more secrets, especially from her. That was how packs got wiped out and destroyed.

‘Stiles is human, he left the pack because he didn’t want anything to do with the supernatural.’ Scott’s voice had a sullen edge to it but that wasn’t what was concerning her.

‘That.’ Natalie frowned. Did Scott honestly not know this? This was basic magic knowledge. Hopefully he’d paid more attention to Deaton on the more important things. ‘That’s impossible. Someone with that much power, is naturally powerful, you cannot steal power like that.’

‘Stiles wouldn’t steal anything!’ Scott snarled. 

Natalie blinked, taken aback by his vehemence.

‘But he _was_ the Nogitsune.’ Theo added. While his tone was light, his aura was smug. Theo really didn’t like this Stiles. She wondered if there was more to the story than what Liam had told her.

‘I’m sorry, what?’ She asked. Again this was something that she should know, something that she should have already known seeing as no one else seemed surprised at this information. And that wasn’t even considering the fact that what they were telling her was impossible. Did this pack know anything about the supernatural? The stories told about their exploits were already coming across as greatly exaggerated or due to an inexplicable amount of luck.

‘Stiles was possessed by a nogitsune.’ Liam explained. ‘Back when he was pack.’

‘He still is pack.’ Scott snarled.

Natalie realised her error, Liam had told her all about the pack members, not about people who weren’t pack. And this Stiles wasn’t pack. No matter what Scott had just stated, he’d already said that Stiles had left the pack wanting away from the supernatural. Now he was pack again? Scott needed to figure his shit out. And quickly.

‘And he survived?’ Natalie got them back on track trying hard not to sound as astonished as she felt. ‘How?’

‘What do you mean? Deaton found a way to save him.’ Scott shrugged.

‘No, it’s impossible for a human to survive a nogitsune possession.’ Natalie explained, her tone conveying how serious she was.

‘And how do you know so much about nogitsunes?’ Theo asked, looking too smug for her comfort.

Natalie rolled her eyes. ‘Please, what witch local to this area doesn’t? There was a nogistune in Oak Creek, called down by a celestial kitsune who then imprisoned it.’

‘How do you know that?’ Scott asked faintly.

‘It’s my job to know things Alpha.’ Natalie reminded him quietly.

‘How do know it was a celestial kitsune who summoned it?’ Theo questioned; his eyes curious.

Natalie stared at him for a moment before she answered. ‘Only certain people can summon a nogitsune. How well did it go when you summoned one?’

‘I’ve never summoned a nogitsune.’ Theo replied, looking stunned and a little worried. 

Natalie wished she’d thought to ask Deaton his opinion on Theo before he left. She knew that Peter hadn’t thought much apart from praising his ruthless abilities and mindset, but Natalie had seen through that to the warning that it actually was.

‘Lie.’ Liam and Malia instantly said, their eyes intent on Theo.

‘What?’ Scott stepped forward, looking hurt. ‘Theo have you tried to summon the Nogitsune back? Why would you do that?’

‘It was a long time ago.’ Theo defended, glaring at Natalie. ‘Way before I became pack.’

‘Okay, no more talk of nogistunes.’ Scott said, flashing his eyes Alpha red at the order. Natalie gritted her teeth at the misuse of his authority. ‘We’ve all been through a lot and tempers are high at the moment. Let’s get through this meeting with Stiles and Ava first. And we’re here to welcome Natalie to the pack.’

‘Thank you, Scott.’ Natalie smiled appreciatively at him but her eyes found Liam. She sent him a pointed look and he inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. They had a lot to talk about.

  
  


‘So, you’re definitely leaving then?’ Stiles asked, opening the door to Danny the following morning. He had an overnight bag with him. Stiles wished there could have been a different outcome, but with Isaac choosing Scott’s pack, he’d known since that night Ava found Danny on the outskirts of the preserve outside of Scott’s territory, that this was inevitable. ‘With Jackson and Ethan?’

Danny nodded and kicked the bag he’d just dropped. ‘I stayed with a friend last night.’

‘What about Isaac?’ Stiles asked, wondering if it was the absolute worst thing for him to ask right then.

‘Isaac is in love with Scott.’ Danny told him, completely avoiding eye contact as Stiles led him through to the kitchen and set about making them drinks.

Stiles could understand, he wouldn’t want to look at anyone either when telling them the man they loved, loved someone else. But… ‘Danny, Isaac loves you.’

Danny nodded. ‘As well. He loves me as well, but Scott?’ He laughed, only it sounded broken. ‘Scott is, not quite the one that got away, but, he’s the unobtainable dream.’ Danny was quiet for a moment. ‘And because Scott can do no wrong, no matter what he does, who he hurts, how many mistakes he makes, Isaac will always defend him.’

‘I’m so sorry Danny.’ Stiles winced knowing his words were just that, words, they did nothing to help Danny’s heartache. ‘I knew Isaac admired Scott, he always followed him around like a lost puppy and did everything he could to get Scott’s attention.’

Danny nodded. ‘He was never in love with Allison, it was Scott, he just didn’t realise what the emotions were. He thought he wanted what Scott had, he didn’t know he just wanted Scott.’

‘When did Isaac realise he was in love with Scott?’

‘When I told him. It was the reason we first broke up.’

‘But you got back together.’ Stiles reminded him gently as he set about getting the mugs for the coffee.

Danny nodded. Stiles ignored the tear sliding down his face, busying himself with the coffee machine. ‘And then we broke up again. Twice more in fact.’

‘Was each time due to Scott?’

Danny sighed and half-shrugged. ‘Not directly.’

Stiles didn’t know what more he could try. ‘I’m sorry Danny.’

‘Yeah me too.’ Danny said quietly. He half snorted. ‘Have to admit, I honestly thought you and Ava were an item.’

‘Nah man, she’s my best friend.’ Stiles grinned at him.

‘Where is it written that best friends can’t be lovers?’

‘Alright smartass.’ Stiles grumbled but nudged Danny’s shoulder. ‘But I’ve never looked at her that way.’

‘No?’

‘No. She’s done so much for me and I can never thank her enough, but…’ He shrugged, handing Danny his coffee. ‘That’s all there’s ever been between us, friendship.’

Danny looked at him funny. ‘What’s she done for you?’

‘Ah.’ Stiles grimaced and patted his shoulder. ‘That’s a long story for another time buddy.’

Danny stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. ‘You really have grown up Stiles.’

‘Thanks, I hear it happens to the best of us!’ He grinned.

Danny snorted.

Stiles sighed as heard the roar of Jackson’s car. ‘Sounds like your rides here.’

Danny nodded but didn’t make any attempt to move, instead sipping his coffee and looking as contented as a man can after they’d just broken up with the one they loved. ‘Hey, thanks Stiles.’

‘Anytime dude.’

Stiles looked up as he heard footsteps to see Lydia and Ava entering the room.

‘Sounds like Jackson’s arrived.’ Lydia smiled.

Stiles heard his front door open and close without any knock and watched in amusement as Jackson strode in with Ethan.

‘Oh yeah, Jackson’s here.’ Ava agreed.

Jackson frowned at them.

Danny sniggered.

‘Morning guys.’ Ethan grinned at them all and proceeded to give Danny some epic puppy eyes.

Danny sighed but handed over his coffee.

Stiles watched it all feeling slightly melancholy. Ethan and Danny were exes, Jackson and Lydia were exes, him and Lydia were exes, and they all got on. Stiles didn’t think Danny and Isaac were going to be able to end up in this category. Not with Danny leaving like this.

‘Thanks!’ Ethan happily gulped half of it down before handing it back to Danny.

Jackson shook his head. ‘We’ve said our goodbyes to Derek.’ He nodded to Stiles and the girls. ‘He’d said he’d see you tonight.’

‘That’s my queue.’ Danny sighed, downed whatever Ethan had left of his coffee and forced a smile on his face.

‘Try not to kill anyone.’ Stiles commented, unsure of who he was aiming it at. He knew there was nothing he could do to help Danny’s relationship with Isaac, but he still wished there was.

‘We’re flying first class. No one’s killing anyone in first class.’ Jackson sounded vaguely insulted.

Stiles snorted. ‘Well it’s been fun.’

‘It really has.’ Ava grinned, sounding genuine and ruining his sarcasm. ‘You ever have a problem or just want a chat, give us a call. Stiles loves talking.’

‘Hey!’ Stiles exclaimed, glaring at her.

‘Yeah, we’d noticed.’ Jackson grinned at her.

‘Yeah, you ever in the area, drop in for a coffee.’ Stiles grinned. Ava wasn’t the only one who could talk the talk.

Ethan frowned. ‘We don’t know where you live.’

‘Exactly!’

Danny sniggered.

‘Yeah, yeah, I know you know where we live.’ Stiles pretended to complain. He actually quite liked the fact that Danny had gone to the time and effort to find out about him and Ava. It made him hopeful that their newfound friendship might last. And with Danny going with Jackson and Ethan, maybe they would remain in touch and he’d have an excuse to contact Derek, or maybe keep in contact with him, or keep tabs on him. Anything really.

‘You made it too easy!’ Danny smiled back at him.

‘Says the hacker.’ Jackson grumbled. ‘Come on, we’re not missing this flight. And I hate goodbyes.’

Stiles tensed when Danny hugged him but felt himself relax after a second and returned the hug. This was not something he had imagined would happen returning back here. He had never imagined he might actually make some friends, and he would never have imagined he would have become friends with Jackson of all people.

_You’re an idiot._ He heard Ava’s voice.

_Shut up._

He didn’t do well with physical contact that he wasn’t expecting, and he hadn’t been expecting Danny to hug him. But he wasn’t complaining about the hug. He was actually a little pleased about it.

Danny pulled away. ‘Keep in touch this time yeah?’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles nodded. Unsurprised to find that he actually meant it. He would definitely stay in touch with Danny. He was actually in a position this time to make it work.

Jackson glared at him; his shoulders hunched crossly. ‘For fucks sake.’ He muttered before launching himself at Stiles and hugging him tightly.

Stiles didn’t even tense but to his surprise, immediately hugged back. He found this even more surprising somehow than being friends with the ex-jock.

_Ummhmmm_

_Shut up_

‘Not a word Stilinski.’ Jackson scowled threateningly as he pulled back.

‘Aww, you do care.’ Stiles crowed, he could feel the smile pulling at his face and did nothing to stop it. If someone had asked him ten years ago if he’d be standing here, hugging Jackson, he’d have called them a dirty filthy liar, and deluded, and in need of psych eval, possibly possessed.

Ethan shoulder bumped him. ‘It’s good to know you don’t hold grudges.’

‘What do you mean?’ Stiles asked, glad that Ethan hadn’t hugged him as well, as much as he loved hugs, this was more than he was used to. And his mind was already blown by having Jackson hugged him, willingly hugged him. And having willingly hugged him back.

Ethan smirked. ‘Jackson knew how he treated you and was worried you’d hold it against him.’

‘Nah,’ Stiles dismissed. ‘I only hold grudges against those I care about.’ Jackson’s face turned to stone and Ethan’s dropped. ‘So, you better not fuck it up now Jackson.’ 

Jackson scowled but his smile was obvious in the turned-up corner of his lips. 

Ethan chuckled.

‘And I’ll have to visit you, I mean you and Derek in the same pack without trying to kill each other? This I have to see.’ Stiles continued, likely the pleasant warm feeling spreading through his chest.

‘Don’t be a dick Stilinski.’ Jackson growled.

Stiles out his hand over his heart. ‘Only to you.’ He solemnly promised.

  
  


‘Mom, can we talk?’

‘Of course, honey.’ Melissa said, lowering the kettle she’d just filled with water. 

It was about damn time. Hopefully this time he would listen when she tried to talk some sense into him. At least now she knew to let him lead and maybe she might get something through to him. ‘Want some coffee?’

He smiled half-heartedly. ‘Yeah, thanks.’

She set the kettle to boil. ‘So, what did want to talk about?’

‘I’m meeting Stiles and Ava soon. I need to know what you know about them.’

Melissa felt herself tense and quickly counted to ten before she said anything. ‘Scott McCall, I don’t know what you’re planning but you stop it right now.’

‘What?’ Scott exclaimed looking innocent. 

But she knew her son, if he thought he was in the right, he always looked innocent and she knew better than to fall for his stupidly effective puppy eyes.

‘Ava helped Stiles when you turned your back on him. I don’t know what any of us would have done without her, so you show her the respect she deserves.’ Melissa stepped towards him, her eyes narrowed with anger and she kept her voice stern, trying not to let it waver with how furious she was at him. Scott would listen to her about this or so help her God.

‘Mom!’ Scott stared at her in alarm.

‘I mean it Scott! Get your head out of your arse!’ She knew she was losing her temper but he’d gone too far this time. Using her for information on her friends, on her family. This stopped now.

‘I didn’t turn my back on Stiles.’ Scott mumbled, suddenly looking like the little boy she’d raised.

‘Oh honey.’ She refused to fall for the innocent puppy dog act. ‘You did. And you have a lot of making up to do.’

‘I know I do, but I was doing the right thing. And I don’t trust Ava. There’s something off about her.’ He insisted.

‘I don’t trust Theo. Didn’t stop you from making him pack.’ Melissa retorted, her jaw clenching tightly as she tried to reign in her temper and breathed in deeply through her nose. She knew Scott could hear it and smell just how angry she really was with him.

‘Okay, point taken.’ Scott winced. He paused. ‘You really trust Ava?’

‘I do. With my life. With Stiles’ life. With yours, the Sheriff’s. I trust her Scott, you however, at this moment in time, you’re the one I don’t trust.’ It finally felt as if he was listening. As if she might be getting through to him. That she hadn’t raised her son to be a selfish self-centred, controlling man who only saw the world in black and white and couldn’t accept any variation of grey.

‘What? Mom, what do you mean, y-you? How do you not trust me?’ Scott looked at her horrified, his eyes wide and distressed.

He looked so hurt but she stared him down. She should have told him this ages ago, but she had honestly thought that her boy was smarter than this, more observant than this. ‘You’ve been pushing me away Scott. You pushed Stiles away and abandoned him. You’ve been pushing Noah away and locking him out of his own investigations and job. You never tell me anything. Why would I trust you Scott?’

‘M-mom, I- I’m sorry.’

He looked and sounded completely gutted. She knew it wasn’t an act but it was past time he took responsibility for his actions. And if hard love was the way to get him to do that, then hard love was what he would get. ‘And Scott? Don’t take the pack with you. You are not declaring war. Ava will not hurt you.’ Melissa took a breath calmly. ‘If you have to take someone, take Malia.’

  
  


‘Danny left with Jackson.’ Isaac said brokenly.

He’d only just arrived to take them to Derek’s and they were waiting on the girls. To be fair Isaac was early, but Stiles couldn’t decide if he just hadn’t wanted to stay in a home filled with memories of Danny, or if one of the girls had asked him to come by earlier because he was getting so stressed out about tonight and just wanted it over.

‘I know.’ Stiles said softly trying not to wince. Isaac looked as if Danny had quite literally ripped his heart out with his bare hands and stamped on it repeatedly. He hadn’t known that werewolves could look that pale from anything other than blood loss. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘He thinks I’m in love with Scott. I’m not.’

Stiles paused and looked at Isaac closer. ‘You’re not?’

Isaac shook his head. ‘No. Not after what’s Scott’s done. I don’t know if I want to stay here without Danny.’

‘I thought you were helping Scott with his mistakes.’ Stiles said slowly. He was so confused. Danny had broken up with Isaac because he wanted to be in Scott’s pack and was trying to make it better, but now Isaac didn’t want to be in Scott’s pack because of what he’d done. Was this because Danny had left him? ‘So you could eventually join his pack?’

Isaac looked away. ‘I’m not talking about that.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘He lied to Derek about his mate.’

‘What?’ Stiles stared at Isaac. 

He could easily see that Isaac was tense and unhappy to be talking about this but what the hell? Scott had lied to Derek about his mate? The one that he’d made Derek push away. How had Derek not picked up on the fact that Scott was lying? Scott’s heartbeat would have given it away in a second, apart from the fact that Scott was a shit liar with an even worse poker face.

He smiled sadly and looked away. ‘Yeah.’

‘What the hell? What did he lie about?’ Stiles blinked wondering why he needed to know. The knowledge would surely only hurt. He wasn’t Derek’s mate, although if he could get Derek back with his mate at least then Derek could be happy.

‘Scott told him to push them away to protect them, but that they would come back when it was safe.’

‘Let me guess, he never came back?’ Stiles asked. That would make sense, Derek would have heard the lie and known that his mate wouldn’t come back. But he’d have still pushed them away if he’d thought his mate was better off for it. And Scott had clearly played on that insecurity.

Isaac gave him a funny look.

‘What?’ Stiles questioned. He knew what a bastard Scott could be now. He wasn’t the same naive idiot he’d been a decade ago about Scott.

‘Come on, let’s go.’ Isaac sighed. 

_You are such an idiot._ Ava said in his mind just before she appeared in the doorway with Lydia.

‘You are such an idiot.’ Lydia sighed, pushing past them and settling into the back seat. 

They had obviously overheard everything.

‘What?’ Stiles flailed following them to the car. ‘Why am I an idiot? What have I missed?’

Ava stared at him for a second before turning to Lydia as she got into the car. ‘Bet you twenty bucks Scott demands to know what I am.’

‘Sucker bet.’ Lydia sniggered as she leant forward, choosing the radio station. ‘Bet you twenty he blames Stiles’ magic on you.’

‘Sucker bet.’ Ava laughed.

‘Bet you it will be over in half an hour.’ Stiles grumbled, still not knowing what he was an idiot for. 

He was not an idiot. He knew exactly what Scott was like, knew that Scott saw the world in black and white and that there was only right and wrong, no grey shaded areas allowed. It didn’t make Scott evil, just… an idiot. So why was Stiles the idiot here?

‘Nah, he’ll show you his puppy eyes and you’ll give in.’ Lydia glared at him.

Stiles shrunk down in his seat. ‘That’s not fair. How are you immune to the puppy eyes?’

‘I’d like to know that.’ Isaac mumbled under his breath as he pulled away from the curb. 

Stiles winced, wondering if there was anything he could do to get Isaac and Danny back together. Finding someone who was immune to the puppy dog eyes and teaching them both that trick maybe. Or maybe if Isaac went after Danny, but Stiles didn’t feel it was his place to say anything. He wasn’t close to Isaac, never had been. And where once that wouldn’t have stopped him from telling him what he thought he should do, Stiles wasn’t that person any more.

He spent the rest of the drive listening to Ava and Lydia squabbling and joking around in the back seat, occasionally offering his two cents, while Isaac silently drove them. It was clear that he was lost in his own little world, but unless he was willing to do something to get Danny back, Stiles couldn’t see a way around it. He was closer to Danny, and he didn’t want Danny stuck in a relationship that wasn’t healthy for him, and wondering if the person you loved would rather be with the person they loved rather than you, was not a healthy relationship.

Derek was waiting for them when they pulled up and Stiles was finding it hard to take his eyes off him. Maybe he should bring up the subject of mates with Derek, see how he might react. He might then be able to talk Derek into tracking down whoever his mate was and actually giving it a chance. Although, with everything Ava had told him about mates, the guy might not be Derek’s mate anymore. He might have moved on. Huh. He’d have to ask Isaac that next time he had the chance.

‘Hey.’ Derek said leaning against his doorway as if he was modelling for Abercrombie and Fitch. ‘You’re early.’

Stiles wondered if he had any idea of how he looked and if he did it deliberately. He was so thankful for the herbs that hid his scent otherwise he’d be making every werewolf within a mile radius wince at the amount of arousal he was emitting. At least he was no longer a hormonal teenager, although he could probably put the thought of the upcoming meeting with Scott down to the reason why he wasn’t hard in his pants at the sight of Derek. 

He was going to have to speak to Scott. Going to have to confront his best friend. Ex-best friend. He was going to have to call Scott on his bullshit and explain that the world didn’t revolve around him. All the while hiding what Scott had done to him. Not that Scott had actually done anything to him, nor was it Scott’s fault. He didn’t blame him. Not at all. But he did resent him for it. He’d tried hard not to, tried hard to let it all go. And he mostly had. But he knew this would only go away if he resolved his issues with Scott. But he wasn’t ready to do that yet. 

‘Yeah well, I don’t like waiting around.’ Stiles scowled.

‘He’s been getting twitchy.’ Lydia complained.

‘So you brought him here. Thanks.’ Derek deadpanned.

Stiles grinned. ‘See, you made a joke! I knew you liked me.’

‘Oh, I’m sure Derek likes you.’ Lydia said pushing Stiles into Derek’s house.

Stiles did not miss the look Derek gave her. He didn’t understand it, but he seemed to be not understanding a lot this morning. He didn’t really care; he was too wired over the upcoming meeting with Scott. But he knew once it was over and he’d had time to second guess and over think absolutely everything, he’d come back to this and quiz Ava and Lydia over it.

‘Relax.’ He heard Derek say and vaguely realised he’d been pacing around Derek’s front room.

‘Who do you think is going to turn up? Do you think Scott will turn up on his own or with his entire pack? I don’t think he’ll come alone.’ Stiles rambled. Maybe thinking about this meeting to stop his thoughts about Derek wasn’t the best idea, but now that he’d started, he couldn’t stop.

He knew he was rambling. He would stop as soon as Scott turned up. There was no way he would ever let his mouth run away with him in front of Scott. Not now, not when so much had happened. And he wasn’t the same Stiles who had left. He only rambled like this when he felt safe. He hadn’t thought he would feel safe around Isaac, not when he was wanting to join Scott’s pack, but he did. Although it seemed that Isaac wasn’t wanting to join Scott anymore.

‘He’ll probably bring as many as his pack as he thinks he can get away with. But he can’t bring them all. Corey’s still in the hospital.’ Derek said reasonably. 

Stiles nodded, agreeing with him. Scott would want his entire pack at his back, he wouldn’t want to go into another wolf’s territory without back-up. And going into another wolf’s home who wasn’t part of your pack was going into another wolf’s territory, even if Scott wrongly felt that the whole of Beacon Hills was his.

‘Mason won’t leave his side so he won’t come.’ Isaac added. ‘I warned him against bringing Theo.’

‘Thanks.’ Stiles grimaced. He really did not want Theo there, not that he would actually do anything to stop him from coming, but the thought was a pleasant one. Maybe he should have tracked Theo down to sneak some laxatives into his morning coffee, or some arsenic into his lunch. Stiles frowned, wondering if any of that would even work on a werewolf. ‘He still looks as arrogant and conceited as he was in high school.’

‘Scott or Theo?’ Lydia asked innocently.

Stiles snorted. ‘So, does arsenic work on Werewolves? Chloroform? Is it only wolfsbane or would like stupidly high concentrates of human poison work? I mean chocolate clearly doesn’t, nor grapes or raisins. Hey, how about catnip? Or would that just be like were-felines?’

  
  


‘We’re here.’ Scott said, already sounding defensive as he walked in with Malia, Stacey and Liam behind him. 

It was a bit like a stand-off, Scott and his three on one side and Stiles and his five on the other, seeing as Kira had arrived a little while ago. He watched as Scott eyed each of them individually and knew instinctively that he felt out-numbered. Which hadn’t been the plan. He’d been positive that Scott would have brought more than just three.

Stiles shared a glance with Derek, both of them surprised that there were only four of them. He honestly thought that Scott would have viewed this as a declaration of war and demanded all able-bodied pack members to be there. No wonder Derek had relaxed when he’d heard them approach. Unless this was a trap and the others were surrounding the house. Why hadn’t he thought of a code word to ask the wolves to check?

He felt Derek nudge him and turned to see him roll his eyes and minutely shake his head. Stiles relaxed slightly while wondering how the hell Derek had known what he was thinking. Was he really that easy to read? He couldn't be, he’d heard countless times how close he kept things to his chest and most of his current friends could never read him or tell what he was thinking.

‘You’re the one who wanted to talk.’ Ava said serenely, taking the lead. They were both happy to either take charge or to hold back and offer support when needed. Their job enabled them both to be at ease in either roles and they had done this so often that they fell into the roles seamlessly depending on the situation. But this was different. This was Stiles’ childhood best friend. ‘So talk.’

‘What are you?’ Scott turned his stare to her.

‘Next question.’ She smiled, keeping things polite but Stiles could see that her refusal to answer had rankled and annoyed Scott.

‘What are you doing here?’ Scott’s jaw was stuck out in that way he had to show how obstinate he was feeling.

‘Visiting until Noah gets back on his feet.’ Stiles hid his wince at the amusement in Ava’s voice.

‘I don’t believe you. What are you really doing here?’

Stiles sighed, well at least Scott was being truthful. And acting exactly how he had thought he would. He hadn’t changed. Stiles was unsure whether to be relieved over that or not, instead he found himself feeling melancholic.

‘I don’t care what you believe.’ Ava told him simply and even the wolves would be able to tell the truth of that sentence. They might not be able to sniff out her scent, but Scott would also have listened to Ava’s heartbeat and so knew that she hadn’t been lying. They were here until his dad was better and back on his feet.

‘Are you going to tell me what you are?’ Scott demanded.

Ava laughed in his face. The time for politeness had apparently gone. Stiles was impressed she had lasted so long; he knew exactly what she thought of his ex-best friend. ‘No.’

Snot snarled.

‘Scott.’ Malia warned him.

‘Alright fine.’ Scott raised his hands as if surrendering, but his anger felt palpable in the air. ‘Why are you controlling Stiles?’

Ava gaped.

Derek and Isaac groaned.

Stiles spluttered. ‘What?! Seriously?! What?!’

‘You’re hiding his scent! And since when do you do magic?’ Scott accused, turning to Stiles.

‘Oh my God!’ Stiles whispered astonished. ‘ _I’m_ hiding my scent! Ava is not controlling me and I’ve been doing magic for eight years. It’s part of my spark.’

Scott shook his head but every word Stiles had spoken had been the truth and his heartbeat would have shown that. ‘Deaton says that’s impossible.’

‘Deaton?’ Ava smiled predatorily. ‘The old emissary? By any chance did he tell you how you became a true alpha?’

‘Ava.’ Stiles said warningly. ‘Play nice.’

‘What does that have to do with anything?’ Scott frowned, clearly confused.

‘The myth of the True Alpha?’ Ava smiled condescendingly but didn’t take her eyes off of Scott. 

Stiles didn’t know how to feel but he knew that Ava had a point. She hadn’t been actively goading Scott but he was still acting as if he was the one charge here and that they’d done something heinously wrong. Maybe it was about time that Scott learnt the truth about a few things. Namely how special he wasn’t. And it was one way to get Scott distracted from Ava’s refusal to tell him what she was. Scott really shouldn’t take it so personally. Ava didn’t tell anyone.

‘It isn’t a myth. I am one!’ Scott replied indignant, his eyes flashing red.

Derek and Isaac flashed their eyes back at him, but not in solidarity, more in warning. Scott was being incredibly rude, seeing as this was Derek’s territory and Derek’s house. Scott was not the one in control here, but he didn’t seem able to let the control go.

‘True alphas are made, in times of need, a druid or mage or some such can create an alpha, these occurrences are known throughout time as True Alphas.’ Ava began, her voice was calm and settled and Stiles knew that it wasn’t in favour to Scott but to Derek. He also knew that if any of the werewolves were listening to her heart for lies, they would find none.

Learning this might hurt Derek and could reopen old wounds. He’d spoken to Ava about it many times and they’d never come to a decision on whether or not to tell Derek. Instead they’d decided that if it came up, they wouldn’t shy away from it. But now, Ava had brought it up to bring Scott down a peg or two, and while it would, it would also probably hurt Derek to hear if he didn’t already know.

_Thanks for not mentioning sparks_. Stiles told her sarcastically while he kept an eye on Derek. He was frowning so Stiles couldn’t tell if he knew this already or not.

_You’re welcome._

‘That-that’s possible?’ Derek asked.

Stiles heart sank. If Derek was stuttering then he didn’t know. _Derek doesn’t know this._

_I’ll be as gentle as I can._

Stiles wondered if he could go over, inch closer to Derek and offer him support, something, anything. Derek always took everything personally and there was no way he wouldn’t take this personally.

‘It is.’ Ava said gently. ‘It’s a lengthy process and the werewolf in question, in fact the pack in question, never have any inkling of what is happening.’

‘What do you mean?’ Derek asked, only looking at Ava. 

Stiles was only looking at Derek, but was surprised that Scott hadn’t already butted in. He inched closer to Derek, wanting to give him any comfort and reassurance that he could. He didn’t care what anyone thought of him comforting Derek, but he didn’t want to disrupt the tense atmosphere, sending the room into a brawl with his movement.

‘Historically, the magic user creating the True Alpha has to pick the werewolf in question very carefully, and will put them through rigorous tests to determine if they are worthy. If they pass, then they start the rituals, which the wolf in question will again have no knowledge of.’

‘What tests?’ Derek asked.

‘I never did any tests.’ Scott said, glancing between the two of them in confusion.

‘I said historically, if there is only one suitable candidate, they will skip these.’ Ava grimaced sympathetically. ‘Or if they have no confidence in the current alpha.’

Derek winced.

‘I’m sorry Derek, he did you a disservice.’ Ava said gently but honestly. 

Stiles rubbed his hand up Derek’s arm, earning an appreciative nod from Derek and a glare from Scott.

‘Wait,’ Malia interrupted. ‘Before, when you killed that first vampire, you said being a true alpha was all about belief.’

Ava winced.

_Sorry Stiles, didn’t think anyone would remember that._

_Not your fault, we’re not seer’s_. Stiles shrugged. There wasn’t any point in not telling them everything. Deaton has used him as well and he’d never known until Ava had explained it to him. ‘To finish the ritual, it helps to have a spark, one whose magic works in the power of belief.’ 

‘It can be done without a spark, but it’s a lot harder and involves blood sacrifices.’

‘What?’ Malia paled. ‘Are you serious? Are you saying that Deaton did this? That Deaton lied to us all?’

Ava and Stiles glanced at each other. 

‘I’m not saying he didn’t have his reasons.’ Ava eventually said as if attempting to lighten the lighten the blow.

Stiles had his own opinions on Deaton reasons, and none of them went in Deaton’s favour.

‘No! No, I don’t believe a word of this. This is all bull! You’re making this up, you’re trying to drive us all apart!’ Scott suddenly shouted, shaking his head and looking horrified as he backed away.

Ava bit her lip, failing to keep a straight face. ‘And why would we do that?’

‘I don’t know!’ Scott yelled, glaring at her before turning it to Stiles. ‘Just like I don’t know why the hell you wanted to leave all those years ago! Why do you keep doing this to me? I just want my best friend back!’

‘What?’ Stiles stared at him feeling sucker punched. Scott had told him to leave, he’d put his all into the pack. ‘What are you talking about? I never wanted to leave, you kicked me out!’

‘Chris said you wanted to go!’ Scott defended himself.

Stiles felt his heart skyrocket, almost beating out of his chest. They only knew one Chris.

‘Chris?’ Stiles almost screamed. This what was he resented Scott for, why he couldn’t fully move past this. Because he had never understood why Scott had listened to Chris. ‘Chris Argent? How the hell would Chris know anything about me? You were my best friend. You were the one who should have known.’

‘But you wouldn’t have told me!’ Scott screamed back. ‘You felt guilty that you wanted out! And I knew you would never admit it or leave. Not unless I did something!’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Stiles shouted, throwing his arms into the air. He felt numb and couldn’t believe the utter bullshit that Scott was spewing. ‘Felt guilty about what? When the hell did I ever want to leave? When I joined the FBI?’

‘No!’ Scott shouted frustrated. ‘But that was the beginning!’

‘The beginning of what?’ Stiles demanded; his eyes wide as he screamed at his old friend. He could feel the blood rushing around his body and his heart pumping nineteen to the dozen but he was so angry that it barely registered. He knew they needed to speak about this, shout at each other, get it all out in the open. But Stiles wasn’t ready, hadn’t been ready, hadn’t ever wanted to. It meant facing it all over again and he never wanted to do that.

‘You leaving!’ Scott hurled at him. ‘Beacon Hills was too small for you only I never saw that! I knew I was never leaving, not once I became a werewolf, but you? You could! And our friendship was stopping you!’

‘No it wasn’t! I joined the FBI to help! We all saw how much my dad helped and how much your dad could have helped if he wasn’t such an arsehole! But you didn’t care!’ Stiles shouted back. His breath was coming in gasps but he was so angry he just pushed it all the side. ‘You only ever saw what was in front of you! Never the big picture! And I was never good enough for you! There was always someone better!’

Scott stared at him as if he’d been slapped. ‘What are you talking about? The FBI was your way out! And you were my best friend!’

Stiles laughed but it came out cruel. ‘Best friend? Where were you when I called for help and had to hold Derek up in a pool for two hours? At your girlfriends having dinner where you hung up on me! And what about when Gerard Argent tortured me? Oh, that’s right working with him! And how about when the Dread Doctors sent a chimera to kill me? Oh yeah you accused me of cold-blooded murder! You forgot me with the ghost riders, you think I don’t know it was Lydia who remembered me?’

Scott looked horrified. ‘I-I...’

_Stiles?_ He vaguely heard Ava’s mind in his voice but he was too worked up to pay it any attention. He was on a roll and he couldn’t stop.

‘Do you want me to go on? Or do you not remember the amount of times you tried to kill me? The amount of times I almost died because you refused to listen to me or were trying to get into some girl’s pants?’

_Stiles, it’s okay, you’re okay, you’re safe. I have you._

He blinked and distantly realised that his breath was coming in too quick, too short gasps and that Ava was stood in front of him, blocking Scott and everyone from his view. But he’d let his anger and fear get the better of him and hadn’t realised that he was struggling for breath, that his heart was pounding too loudly, too quickly. 

He fell to his knees as his legs gave out and stared up at Ava in terror as he desperately struggled to breath out, only managing short bursts of inhalation. He felt his eyes bulge and his panic only increased.

He tried to find words, to speak to Ava but he couldn’t even manage to get them out. He felt the blackness creeping up around him and black spots appeared in his eyesight as he struggled to stay with her, to say her name, to stay awake. ‘A-A-A-A...’

He felt the darkness growing and swallowing him and he was helpless to do anything to stop it.

_Shhh, I have you, you’re safe. Relax now, feel my fingers on your hand? Follow them. Find my fingers. On your left hand. Follow them. Follow my fingers on your left hand. I have you. Breathe. you’re safe. Find my fingers and follow them. On your left hand. Shhh._

He finally heard Ava’s voice. He didn’t know how much later it was, but he could hear her voice, it sounded as if she’d been repeating the words awhile but her voice soothed him. He could still hear his heart frantically pounding away but it wasn’t quite as loud or as consuming as it had been before. But he still couldn’t breathe out. The panic was receding but he still couldn’t breathe out.

_Shhh, Feel my fingers on your hand. I have you, follow the pattern on your left hand. I’m not leaving, I’m never leaving. Find my fingers. Feel the pattern. On your left hand. Follow them, follow my fingers._

_Ava._

_There you are. We’re safe. Can you feel my fingers?_

_Left hand._

_Left hand. Can you follow the pattern?_

He managed a jerky nod, still struggling with his breathing.

_Good, what shape is it?_

_Lines. B-Box. Square._

_Good, you’re doing great. Can you breathe in with me along one line and out on the next?_

_C-Can’t breathe._

_Shh, listen to my voice. Breath in with me, feel me behind you? My chest rising? Copy that. Breath in and now breath out. Copy me. Follow my fingers._

He didn’t know how he managed it but he managed a small, tiny breath out.

_Brilliant. Good. Now in again. Feel that line?_

He nodded and took another breath in. But it was too small.

_And out on this line._

He breathed out, his breath automatically holding to wait for the breath in.

_And in again, little longer this time._

He breathed in and held it.

_And out again._

He felt the breath leave his body in a big whoosh that he didn’t feel in control of but Ava spoke before he could panic about it.

_Good, that’s it and in again._

He breathed in.

_And out again._

His breath whooshed out but he didn’t panic about it this time.

_And in again._

He could feel his heart settling, slowly returning to his normal erratic fast rate.

_And this time, we’ll slowdown that breath out._

He tried to do it, but it still left in one big whoosh before he held his breathing again.

_In again._

He breathed in easily enough.

_Good and out again._

He tried to relax his chest and this time felt his breath slowly leave him.

_And in._ Ava said slowly.

His slowly breathed in, keeping time with the line she drew on the back of his hand.

_And out._

He slowly breathed out with the next line. He felt her start the next line even though she didn’t say anything and kept breathing in time to her lines. Concentrating just on her lines, breathing in and out, keeping time with them as they got bigger and longer until he felt like he could open his eyes.

He looked up into her face, she was smiling at him.

‘Better?’

‘Yeah.’ He croaked. And it was only then that he realised that he could only see her, there was a gold swirling around them both, distorting everything else from them. He knew what it was, protection. It meant they weren’t at home, but it kept them safe and stopped others from being able to get to them or hear them. He took a deep shaky breath and only then realised that he was lying half in her lap, his head propped against her chest. He took another couple breaths. She stopped the patterns but had kept hold of his hand. He gave it a thankful squeeze. ‘Where are we?’

‘Still at Derek’s.’ He closed his eyes at her answer suddenly remembering his confrontation with Scott. ‘Lydia will take you home.’

His eyes shot open and his heart rate spiked. ‘You’re not coming?’

‘I’ll be right behind you. I just need a word with the wolves first.’

He struggled to control his breathing and chose to contrate on that rather than her words.

_Stiles, I will always be with you._ He nodded. It didn’t matter how far apart they were; he could always contact her and her him. His breathing settled, his heart following.

‘Are you okay to stand up?’

Stiles nodded. ‘Can they see us?’

‘Yes.’ Ava grimaced. ‘I can still remember the time I blocked us from Lydia’s view.’

Stiles nodded, surprised to feel some amusement flow through him, but even he remembered the chewing out Lydia had given Ava. He slowly stood up and glanced at the swirling gold rushing around them pointedly.

‘You ready?’ Ava asked him gently.

He nodded again and the gold dissipated. He glanced around the room to find Lydia. She glared at him when he managed a small smile for her but was surprised to find Derek and Isaac completely wolfed out behind her. But everyone else was silent, staring at them as if waiting for something.

Scott was looking shocked behind a clearly upset Malia. Stacey and Liam looked a mixture of alarmed and worried.

‘Lydia can you take Stiles down to the car?’ Ava broke the silence. ‘I’ll be along in a moment.’

  
  


Derek didn’t want Stiles to leave, not in this state. Stiles was still pale and not himself yet. He felt Isaac grab his arm when he growled at Ava’s words and dug his claws into his thighs to stop himself from doing something stupid. But he couldn’t help the soft whine that left him when Lydia led Stiles away from him and out of his house. He forced himself to compose himself and felt the shift recede.

He saw Kira glance at him, worry written over her face. She inclined her head towards Lydia’s and Stiles’ departing forms and he nodded, relieved when she followed them. He wished he could follow them too.

‘I think, maybe, it’s time for you to realise the consequences of your actions McCall. Now where is that recording?’ Ava smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes as she held her hand out. 

Derek noticed she didn’t seem exactly unsurprised when they all stared at her in confusion. He had no idea what was going on or even why Ava had stayed behind but gut instinct told him it was bad. That something very bad was about to happen and it had him on edge. He flinched when she flipped her hand over and a USB drive was suddenly sitting in her palm. ‘Ah, there it is. I’d watch this, and pay close attention to the details.’

She handed the drive to Isaac, turned on her heal and vanished from the spot.

Derek blinked at where she had been then blinked at Isaac who was staring lost at the USB now sitting in the palm of his hand.

‘What?’ Scott stared at the spot she’d been standing in looking utterly bewildered. It wasn’t a new look on him and Derek had no idea how he had progressed so far in life. ‘What did she mean by that?’

‘I think we’re about to find out.’ Isaac said staring at the USB drive in his hands. He looked up at Derek and nodded his head to the TV mounted on the wall. ‘Will that TV play this?’

Derek nodded slowly, something felt very wrong here, neither him nor his wolf was happy. But then he’d just witnessed Stiles have a panic attack and been unable to help, just uselessly stand there as Ava protected him and talked him down. At least he assumed she’d talked him down, he’d seen her lips move but hadn’t been able to hear anything, not even with his werewolf hearing. Whatever that circle had been surrounding her and Stiles, he hadn’t been able to break it, even his claws had just slid over it as if it wasn’t even there. ‘There’s a port at the side.’

He watched silently as Isaac went over and fiddled around, turning the TV on and getting the USB plugged in. He had no idea what Ava had meant by ‘consequences’ nor why she hadn’t stuck around to watch whatever this was or their reactions. Something bad was about to happen. 

Scott was bitching to his pack, mainly Malia, who seemed to be the only one not paying attention to the USB. ‘What the hell is wrong with that woman? How did she disappear? Is she a witch? Can witches do that?’

Malia shrugged. ‘None of know what is she and Deaton refuses to tell us.’

Scott scowled. ‘She’s bad news. We need her out of Beacon Hills and away from Stiles.’

‘She hasn’t done anything.’

‘She will.’ Scott muttered darkly, crossing his arms.

Derek felt completely done with Scott and as soon as this was over, he was telling Isaac so. He might still stay though, but only so that he could see Stiles. He desperately wanted to follow Stiles, to check up on him and make sure he was okay. To do anything, something. He felt as if he was growing closer to him, like he had been before Scott had decided to kick Stiles out, only there was something more now, at least Derek felt as if there was and that it wasn’t just wishful thinking because Stiles was single this time. Last time he’d been with Lydia. 

There was only one item saved and it was a video. By the size of it, a very long video. He watched as Isaac grabbed the remote and pressed play.

A picture suddenly flashed up and Isaac’s shocked inhale immediately caught everyone’s attention.

‘State your name please.’ An unfamiliar voice demanded. 

It wasn’t Ava’s voice, that much Derek could tell.

‘Chris Argent.’ Chris replied, staring blankly out of the TV. 

He’d been in a fight, that much was obvious, but whoever had him had clearly cleaned him up and seen to his injuries. He was wearing joggers and a plain dark t-shirt and was sitting slumped in a chair which he was handcuffed to.

‘And your occupation?’

He winced. ‘Hunter.’

‘What the hell is going on?’ Isaac demanded loudly, staring at the screen in horror. Derek could smell his anger, fear and worry. ‘There’s nothing to tell where he is!’

‘Told you there was something wrong with her!’ Scott smirked victoriously.

‘What kind of hunter?’ The voice asked.

Chris inhaled deeply before answering. ‘Werewolf hunter.’ His voice was resigned.

‘But he isn’t.’ Isaac frowned, shaking his head. Derek could scent Isaac’s confusion and denial. ‘He’s not a werewolf hunter anymore. He was revising the code.’

‘And do you know why you are here Mr Argent?’

Chris nodded.

‘Please answer the question Mr Argent.’

He swallowed. ‘I do.’

‘Where the hell is he?’ Isaac growled.

Derek could smell his anger and desperation.

‘And why is that Mr Argent?’

‘I kidnapped and aided in the torture of a human.’

‘What?’ Isaac stopped, instantly paling and staring at the screen.

Scott blinked. ‘Chris wouldn’t do that.’

Derek wasn’t so sure. Chris was the only one on the screen, he could see and hear his breathing and pick up his heart rate. ‘His heartbeat didn’t change. He’s telling the truth.’

‘And why did you do that?’

‘To help my understanding of werewolves.’

‘That doesn’t make any sense.’ Isaac was virtually pleading with the screen. ‘He had me, what did he need help understanding us for?’

‘Were you also not advisor to a true alpha with his own pack at the time?’

Scott inhaled sharply. ‘These people know about me. Who the hell are these people?’

Chris winced; it was obvious he’d given up. He wasn’t even bothering to fight. ‘I was.’

‘And did you not aid in parental duties and care to another bitten werewolf for several years prior to this?’

‘I don’t understand.’ Isaac whimpered. Derek went over and wrapped his arms around his old beta. He wasn’t surprised when Isaac burrowed into him. He looked back at the TV, why did Ava have this? What had she meant by the consequences of Scott’s actions? None of this was making any sense.

‘I did.’ Chris sighed.

‘So why did you kidnap and help torture a human?’

‘Who are they talking about?’ Derek murmured, a frown covering his face. He felt his heart stutter and drop when it clicked. There was only one person they all knew who was human and wasn’t around then. One person who was human and that Ava protected. ‘No!’

‘What?’ Isaac asked urgently, most likely feeling Derek’s terror. ‘Derek! What? Who?’

Derek stared at the TV unable to speak, praying that he was wrong.

‘It’s complicated.’ Chris said quietly.

‘Uncomplicate it for me.’

‘He killed my daughter.’

‘Stiles?’ Isaac whispered. ‘He’s talking about Stiles?’

‘What?! No! Chris wouldn’t do that! He did not kidnap and torture Stiles!’ Scott shouted, shaking his head. 

But Derek knew better. Chris was a hunter and brother to the woman who’d seduced him and burnt his family alive with the secrets he’d told her and then laughed and taunted him about it. He had no trouble believing that Chris could do something like that. He didn’t want to believe it though. He’d given Chris a chance, tried so hard not to see Kate every time he looked at him. Had believed that he was different from the rest of his family. But then, Chris had believed it as well, he hadn’t lied to Derek when he’d apologised for his family, when he’d told him he was different, that he was better and believed in the code and stuck to it.

‘In cold blood?’ The voice on the screen said.

‘No.’ Chris whispered.

‘You said that it was Chris who told you Stiles wanted out.’ Maia whispered, unable to take her eyes off the screen. 

Everyone fell silent at that.

That explained a lot. Scott always seemed to put his faith in the wrong people. He’d even worked with Gerard Argent, he may have double crossed him, but no one had come out of Scott’s ridiculous plan unscathed. Except Scott. And Scott had always trusted Chris more than he should have. Derek had seen Scott turn to Chris more and more that last year, but he hadn’t seen this. Hadn’t thought that Chris would ever do something like this. No wonder that Scott had believed he was doing the right thing. 

Derek may not have been able to predict Chris doing something like this, Chris would have been one of the last people he’d have thought of, but that didn’t mean this surprised him. He knew the man would be more than capable of this. But he’d believed that Chris had understood, accepted and forgiven Stiles. Stiles wasn’t at fault. He’d been possessed and had no control.

‘Explain please.’ The voice continued.

‘He was possessed.’

‘And yet you blamed him?’

‘I tried not to.’

‘And yet you failed. What possessed the human?’

‘A nogitsune.’

There was a pause. ‘You are aware that humans do not survive possession by nogitsunes?’

Chris closed his eyes. ‘I am.’

‘Do you know what Mr Stilinski is?’

Derek crumbled hearing confirmation that it was in fact Stiles they were talking about. He knew it would have been, there wasn’t anyone else, but he’d still held out hope that it was someone else. 

Letting go of Isaac, he hit the floor, but kept his eyes on the screen, unable to look away.

Chris nodded. ‘He’s a spark.’

‘Do you know what happens to spark’s after prolonged torture Mr Argent?’ The question was sharp.

‘What?’ Scott whispered. ‘What are they talking about? This can’t be real!’

Chris shrugged. ‘No.’

‘Very well. How long did you and your colleagues have Mr Stilinski for?’

‘Eleven months and nineteen days.’

‘No.’ Scott shook his head adamantly. ‘That’s not possible. We would have known.’

‘Oh my God.’ Malia fell to the ground, sitting there staring up at the TV, transfixed. ‘Lydia and the Sheriff. They pleaded with us. Told us it wasn’t Stiles sending those emails. They were right.’

‘And how did you go about the capture of a spark that had been part of a pack? The same pack that you were helping.’

‘Scott McCall had asked for my help, I agreed, but seeing Stiles every day, seeing him laugh and smile… it was too much.’

‘Please get to the point Mr Argent.’

Chris nodded. ‘I told Scott that Stiles wanted out of the pack, but was too afraid to leave. It didn’t take long to convince Scott to make the decision to push him out.’

‘You convinced a true alpha to kick out someone who he had been friends with since infancy? He did not hear your lies?’

‘But, no.’ Scott shook his head but Derek could smell the tears in his eyes. ‘No, no this is wrong. Chris wouldn’t do this. Not to Stiles.’

‘No. It was surprisingly easy. I did worry at how easy it was, but McCall was always too quick to trust. It helped that I was dating his mother.’

‘No.’ Scott whispered brokenly, wrapping his arms around himself.

‘And when this true alpha kicked the spark out of his pack, what happened then?’

‘I picked Stiles up. I already had a place picked out to keep him and people in place to look after him.’

‘And nobody looked for him? His father is a Sheriff, isn’t he?’

‘I sent emails from Stiles’ account. His father and his girlfriend guessed they were fake but I made sure that no one from the pack would help them.’

‘Oh God!’ Scott whimpered and bent over, retching.

‘And these people who you had in place to look after Mr Stilinski, who were they?’

‘Two other hunters.’

‘Did they keep to the code?’

Chris swallowed. ‘No.’

‘Why did you torture the spark?’

‘I wanted information.’

‘Information you couldn’t get from your true alpha or the werewolf you had virtually adopted?’

Chris closed his eyes and breathed deeply. ‘No. Stiles was always more thorough in his research than them. He knew more about pack dynamics than the two bitten werewolves I had at my disposal.’

‘And what information did you get from the spark?’

Chris mumbled something but Derek heard him perfectly. 

‘Speak up.’

‘Nothing.’

‘You did not get any information from the spark?’

‘No.’

‘Are you saying that you tortured Mr Stilinski repeatedly and kept him prisoner for eleven months and nineteen days and he gave you… nothing?’

Chris nodded. ‘That’s what I’m saying.’

‘Tell me, would you have held out that long Mr Argent?’

‘No.’ He whispered.

‘You do realise your two accomplices are dead?’

‘I had guessed.’

‘And that you will never leave this facility?’

‘I guessed.’ He whispered again.

The screen froze. A still image of Chris Argent, handcuffed to a chair in a plain room with no windows and no noise that any of the werewolves could discern other than his voice and the voice of his interrogator.

Derek stared at the screen feeling his wolf clawing at him in desperation, to fight, to run, to hide, to hunt down Chris Argent and kill him, to do anything. There was a roaring in his ears, but he couldn’t seem to move. 

He had let Stiles down again. He had let his mate down, the person both him and his wolf had chosen to love for the rest of his life, and he let this happen. 

He’d let himself be manipulated again, manipulated by Scott, again. Just like with Gerard. And just like with Gerard, it was Stiles who had paid the price. Been tortured, again. Because Derek allowed himself to be manipulated. Allowed Scott into making him believe this was best for Stiles. This was all Derek’s fault.

Another Argent ruining his life. When would he learn? Kate had burnt his family alive and destroyed everything he loved, almost everyone important to him. Now Chris had done this to Stiles. Everyone he cared about or loved, seemed to get hurt and scarred by an Argent. He needed to find Chris, kill him and wipe the Argent line out.

How could Stiles even look at him without hatred? Without blame? How could he have invited him into his home? Speak to him and touch him? This was Derek’s fault, and Stiles had smiled at him. Had offered him refreshments and not once hinted that this had happened. Had let Derek merrily stay ignorant that he had once again almost gotten someone he loved killed. He wasn’t surprised that Stiles didn’t want to be with him romantically, look at his track record. It spoke for itself. Stiles was better off staying far away from him and out of his life.

He didn’t realise he was shaking, but he felt the urge to run and he answered it. He blinked, as he caught a whiff of fresh air, air that didn’t reek of blame, guilt, anger, denial, pain, and he ran for it.

He scampered down the stairs and out into the street, heading away from the road and towards the fresh, clean air of the preserve, of home, of freedom.


	16. Chapter 16

  
  
  


Scott stood there, staring at the screen in horror. The words repeating in his head. Chris had used him. Chris had kidnapped Stiles. Chris had tortured Stiles. And he’d used him to do it. Chris would never have been able to hurt Stiles if it hadn’t been for him. If Scott hadn’t fallen in line like a good little soldier. And like the idiot he was, Scott had fallen for it. Hook, line and sinker. He had done everything Chris had asked of him. Including betray his best friend. He’d led him like a lamb to slaughter, straight into the wolf’s den, or rather the hunters lair.

And Stiles had known. 

He must have known that he’d followed Chris’s lead. Stiles had known Chris was pack, that Scott had been looking to him more and more. And Stiles must have known who had kidnapped him, who was responsible for his torture. Why else would he have had a panic attack? Just because Scott had mentioned Chris. Stiles had had a panic attack because Scott had told him that Chris was responsible for him kicking him out the pack.

He’d actually kicked his best friend out of his pack. Not helped him. But abandoned him. Just like his mother had said. No wonder his own mom no longer trusted him. His best friend had needed him. Stiles had needed him. And he’d abandoned him. He’d listened to Chris, he hadn’t listened to Stiles, or the Sheriff or even Lydia. He’d ignored all of them, ignored all the evidence, because he believed Chris, trusted Chris. Trusted and believed someone else with information about his best friend instead of going to Stiles and asking him himself.

But the reasons Chris had given? They didn’t make sense. He was pack, and pack didn’t turn against each other. Why had Chris not come to him? Why had he let it get so bad that he had done this? Scott couldn’t understand how he hadn’t known there was so much disharmony in his pack that it had come to this. He’d been struggling with knowing what was best to do, and Chris had seemed the only option open to him, the only person he could go to and trust with his insecurities. He was comfortable being a werewolf and an alpha, but after everything that happened, after everything they had all been through and witnessed. He was struggling to figure out what his instincts were telling him, and Chris had been helping with that. 

Or rather, he’d believed that Chris had been helping with that. Now, he wasn’t so sure, once Derek had said Chris wasn’t lying in the video, Scott had realised he was listening to his heartbeat. And Derek had been right. Chris hadn’t lied once. He hadn’t been able to hear anything about the person asking the questions except for their voice. so had Chris been helping him or using him? He didn’t understand what any of it would accomplish. 

Chris’s advice had helped, not in regard to Stiles, but in leading the pack, although after Chris had gone, there had been a really tough patch when the pack had found out about a lot of his methods. When he hadn’t managed to pull off one of Chris’s plans without him, and they’d found out how much he was keeping from them. He’d promised to always tell them the entire plan after that, no holding anything back. And while he had enjoyed being able to come in at the end with a trump card, he could kinda see their point. And he’d kept to their promise. He hadn’t been any good at planning until he’d started talking everything over with Mason and Corey.

But Chris hadn’t just been pack, he’d been family. He’d been dating his mom and Scott had thought it was getting serious between the two of them. He knew how upset she’d been when Chris had disappeared. She’d taken a year long sabbatical to get over him and had been different when she came back. To the extent that Scott had wondered if she blamed him for Chris leaving her without a word. She’d struggled to look at him or be around him for long. But then she’d confused him by stating she was glad that he was out of her life. 

Which, now that he knew this, so was Scott.

And instead of making things better, he’d put his foot in it instead. He then caused his best friend to have a panic attack. He’d been horrified to realise what was happening, that he was the one that had caused his best friend to have a panic attack. But it turned out, that wasn’t even all of it. It wasn’t even the worst thing he’d done to Stiles, just the worst thing he’d done to Stiles today.

He fell to his knees, staring blankly in front of him. 

He’d been the cause of Stiles’ pain. Been the cause of no doubt countless nightmares. He wasn’t so stupid to think that Stiles didn’t have enough nightmares left over from the Nogitsune, but Stiles had never spoken of them. It had been like an unspoken agreement between them. One that in hindsight, Scott should never have allowed. But now, now he’d gone past the point of forgiveness. He’d hurt and betrayed his best friend and the worst of it was, he’d thought he’d been doing him a favour. He chuckled brokenly as tears forced themselves out of his eyes and down his face. What kind of friend was he? What kind of person was he?

He destroyed everything he touched. No wonder Stiles didn’t want anything to do with him. How could anybody stand the sight of him? It now made sense that his own mother didn’t even trust him. Oh God, his mom knew. No wonder she’d had such an about turnabout Chris and thought so much of Ava. His mom had to know. And Ava must have been the one to be there for Stiles when he hadn’t been. It made sense now, why she was so adamant that he had abandoned Stiles. And he had. Because he’d believed Chris, believed he was actually helping Stiles when he’d been doing the opposite.

Malia had been the only one who had wanted to speak to Stiles after he left, to keep in touch with him, to listen to the Sheriff and Lydia when they said the emails weren’t from Stiles. He’d dismissed it, just like Chris had told him to. He had believed Chris when he’d said it was Stiles acting out, sounding different to gain attention, to get Scott to go after him. Especially as the Sheriff had nothing concrete to go on. Chris had given him reports, obviously faked, that Stiles was travelling and enjoying life away from the pack. And he’d convinced Malia of the same even though he knew that deep down that wasn’t like Stiles and that Malia didn’t truly believe him but was willing to go along with him for some reason or another. Probably because she loved him. How on earth could anyone love him after what he’d done? How could Stiles stand the sight of him?

And then it hit him. He was doing it again. He was thinking of himself. Of how he’d acted, how he’d been manipulated, how he’d been used. 

But it wasn’t about him. 

It was about Stiles. Chris had kidnapped Stiles. Chris had tortured Stiles. Yes, Chris had used him in order to be able to do any of that, but this was all about Stiles. Stiles was the one who’d been tortured, Stiles was the one who had been abandoned. Stiles was the one who had just had a panic attack.

Scott needed to speak to his mom. She’d know what to do. She’d help him figure out how to make amends. He needed to fix this, or do something. He couldn’t just let this slide. He had to apologise to Stiles. To somehow get Stiles to see that he hadn’t known, that he still loved him, that they were still brothers, that he would still give his life for Stiles. And as much as he hated to admit it, his mom had been right about Ava, maybe, probably. His mom might have been right about Ava.

Ava could be looking out for Stiles. But she could also be trying to break his pack apart, although, if he were honest, he’d basically done that. She’d just brought some secrets out of the dark and into the light. Secrets that should have never been kept in the first place.

How could he have been so wrong about someone? Although that seemed to be his trademark at the moment. Being wrong about people. He was wrong about Chris, wrong about Stiles, wrong about Ava. Who else was he going to find out he was wrong about? 

Ava hadn’t hurt him or any of his pack. She’d helped his pack, healed his pack, fought for his pack and actually protected his pack. And she’d been there for Stiles when he hadn’t.

Scott sighed. He was an absolute idiot. 

  
  


Malia stared at the screen, at the white noise that was left. She glanced at Scott. The man she loved, who had been crucial to the kidnap and torture of the man she’d lost her virginity too. The first man she’d ever loved, the first person to ever see her and accept her. And she’d stood back, allowing Scott to do what he thought was best. She’d argued with him, of course she had, but she hadn’t defied him. 

She couldn’t think of why she hadn’t. It wasn’t like she never had before. So why hadn’t she this time? Why had she been the only one left in the pack who had thought that Stiles’ disappearance had been strange?

Her concerns had been dismissed. And Stiles had always been the one she went to when she couldn’t understand her instincts. He had always listened to her. And when he’d gone, her concerns had been dismissed by everyone, including Scott, and blamed on her upbringing as a coyote.

She looked at herself and didn’t like who she had become. Complacent. She’d somehow become a person that allowed things to happen, bad things to happen to people she cared about. Well no more. She wouldn’t let anyone talk her around ever again. She was going to stick to her guns and listen to her gut instinct.

She glanced at the screen again, a fresh wave of pain going through her. How had she become so naive? Why hadn’t she protested? Why hadn’t she gone behind Scott’s back? Why hadn’t she listened to Lydia? Lydia had known. So had the Sheriff. They’d both tried to tell her. Why hadn’t she listened? 

Because she’d listened to Scott.

She’d listened to Scott’s heartbeat, known that he thought and believed he was in the right, but that was the problem wasn’t it? He always believed he was in the right. 

She swallowed heavily, trying not to gag at the emotions running riot within her and slowly staggered out of the room. She needed to get out of here, get away from the picture of Chris, looking so resigned and broken, on the TV. He deserved it all and a whole lot worse as far as she was concerned. If she knew where he was, she would rip him apart limb from limb. Make him suffer as he must have made Stiles suffer.

Her mind made up, she stiffly walked to her car, the one her and Scott had arrived in. She was going to the hospital, to the two people she trusted to find out what she needed to know. She was going to the pack researchers. 

She doubted Stiles would help her, she had basically abandoned him even though she hadn’t for one second thought she had. Could he ever forgive her? She didn’t know, if she was in his position, she didn’t think she could. All she did know was that she needed to find Chris Argent. Once she’d dealt with him, then she would beg Stiles to forgive. She didn’t care what it took.

  
  


Stacey took a step back. She blinked and glanced at Liam. He looked like he was in shock. He wasn’t moving, just staring at the tv, blinking every so often. Derek had wolfed out, actually full on wolfed out into a massive big black actual wolf. She hadn’t even known that was a thing, but nobody had acted surprised when he shifted into an actual animal and made a run for it. 

Isaac had chased after him. Once he’d realised what had happened.

She glanced at the screen again. She recognised the man. She’d heard the lore, been told the tales and seen photographs. Chris Argent. Father of Allison Argent, first love of Scott’s life. Werewolf hunter. 

It didn’t surprise her what he’d done. She’d worked in a hospital before having to move to the morgue once she’d become a werewolf, she knew just what atrocities people could do. And before he’d allied with them, this had apparently been his job. His job to kill werewolves. Sure, he’d had a code, but she’d also heard just what his family had thought of that code and werewolves in general. She also knew the basics about Stiles. The boy who ran with werewolves. He’d never stood a chance. Not against a hunter with a grudge hiding in plain sight.

What did surprise her, was that Scott was involved. Her Alpha. 

She knew he was the brightest, that he didn’t always think things through and always saw the best in people even when there wasn’t any. But this was Scott, the man so against killing, and he’d let this happen to a pack member, to his supposed best friend.

She’d often wondered what the hell she had gotten herself into by becoming a werewolf and a member of this pack, not that she’d actually understood what Scott had meant when he’d turned her. He’d told her could save her life after she’d been attacked by a crazed patient on her way home and left for dead. She’d known she was dying, and being a doctor, knew there was no medical procedure he could perform that would save her. So theoretically, she should have guessed that something was amiss. But Scott hadn’t mentioned werewolves or the supernatural. She hadn’t known about the supernatural and she’d been dying. 

She’d said yes.

She should have at least asked him how. Being a doctor, she knew all about informed consent. And Scott hadn’t given her that. But even if he had, she probably still would have said yes. She hadn’t wanted to die, she still didn’t. And she’d accepted being a werewolf and being part of Scott’s pack. But now? Now she didn’t care, she wanted out. She had no idea if this was how other packs were run, but Isaac had made it on his own. She could as well.

It was a shame that Jackson and Ethan had already left, maybe she should have cosied up to them. They’d figured a way out; they could have helped her. She doubted that she could go to Isaac or Derek, they both seemed to have too much shit going on at the moment. But she was bright, she was intelligent, she was a doctor. She could figure this shit out.

  
  
  


Jackson felt the pain suddenly rip through his chest and he grabbed hold of Ethan for support, not that Ethan seemed to be doing much better. They both ended up on the floor grasping each other’s hands as they tried to work through the pain and figure out what had happened, to understand where it was coming from. Why their chests felt as if they were being ripped apart from the inside.

‘Derek.’ Jackson managed to stammer, ignoring the alarmed looks he was getting in the airport waiting lounge. His pack bond to Derek was wrong, felt wrong, was consumed in pain and guilt and anguish. Something had happened to Derek, and they’d left him in Beacon Hills, defenceless without his pack or any pack members around him. 

Jackson had been against this plan from the start but no one had listened to him. He hadn’t wanted Derek to return in the first place. It was why he’d agreed to return when Lydia had asked him, although he’d already been trying to figure out a way for him to go back without it looking like he was checking up on Derek. The reunion had been perfect. But now Jackson realised they should never have left. What the hell had McCall done now?

He could hear Ethan gasping for breath beside him and felt him clutch desperately at his hand. Not that he wasn’t doing the exact same thing, needing the reassurance of pack and mate. 

‘Derek’s hurt.’

He knew it would pass but currently he was cursing the pack bonds that was making them feel Derek’s pain so acutely. He’d never felt another's pain like this before. And while he knew that Derek was the king of internal pain and martyrdom, there must be something seriously wrong for Jackson and Ethan to both be feeling it so acutely. But if they were, then so would the rest of the pack back home. 

If Derek was dying, he would raise him from the dead and kill him again for doing this to them in the first-class lounge.

‘Sir?’ He vaguely heard a voice enquire. ‘Sir? Are you alright?’

‘Do I fucking look alright?’ Jackson managed to snarl before the dark edges began creeping around his vision.

He gasped as the pain suddenly popped. He could still feel an echo of it but it seemed detached. He fell forward and retched, feeling along the bond for Derek but he couldn’t find him. It was like he was no longer there, no longer part of the pack. 

He scrambled for his phone, vaguely feeling Ethan staggering to his feet beside him. He looked at his hand and followed it to the one holding his, up to the arm, elbow, shoulder, neck and finally settled on Danny’s worried face. 

He complied when Danny tugged at his hand and watched as Ethan snarled something at the idiot in front of them. He saw Danny’s mouth move as he spoke and followed when Danny pulled at his hand. He absently noticed that Danny had hold of Ethan’s other hand as well and was talking to them but all he could hear was the phone continuously ringing in his ear as Derek didn’t answer.

  
  


Cora fell to her knees and her eyes flashed red. Derek. Something was wrong with him. He was in pain, serious pain if she was feeling it all the way here from Beacon Hills. She gasped and struggled to her feet, growling as she did so, only just succeeding. 

She had never felt a pain like this before and her bond with her brother was stretched taut and tight, it was too fragile. She could feel it was at breaking point but didn’t understand why. What could have caused their bond, their pack bond, to splinter like this? It was agony. What was happening to Derek? What was he going through? She’d only felt something similar to this once before and it made her blood run cold. The last time she’d felt the pack bonds in this much pain, her family had been burnt alive.

‘Cora? What’s wrong? What is it?’ Luciana asked, reaching out for her.

‘Phone.’ Cora managed to bite out around her extended teeth and she tried to fight the shift. 

She heard her surrounding pack members gasp and fall as well. Cora knew that everyone in the pack was feeling this, that it wasn’t just her connection with her brother. Derek was in serious trouble if the entire pack was feeling it. 

‘Alpha!’ 

She glanced over to Sebastian beside her and saw him clutching at his chest, struggling to get air into his lungs. The pain written on his face, his eyes watering, and the way he struggled to take in air.

She forced herself to ignore the pain she was in, the way her chest felt as if it were exploding and patted around her body, finding her phone in a back jeans pocket and quickly hit the first speed dial. 

She knew it was a long shot, but she still prayed that her brother would answer his phone. She knew her pack’s itinerary. Jackson and Ethan would be at the airport, they’d be boarding soon. Danny was with them. Which meant that Derek was alone. He didn’t have pack with him. He didn’t have anyone with him. Except for Isaac, who wasn’t pack.

‘Come on Derek!’ She muttered as the phone rang and rang and rang.

Derek wasn’t answering. She didn’t really think he would, not if he was in this much pain. She couldn’t understand what was happening. It was daytime in Beacon Hills, so it couldn’t be a vampire. But something had hurt Derek, and she was too far away to help. He had no one there with him to help.

Her brother was alone. 

  
  


Deaton sat at his desk, looking out of the window and onto the serene lake. He tapped his pen absently onto the letter as he searched for the words he needed, to apologise for all the ways he had wronged Derek Hale. 

He had wronged Laura Hale too, but there was nothing he could do about that now. He had made sure that she passed over peacefully years ago, hoping that that would soothe his conscience. It hadn’t but he had still picked Scott McCall over Derek anyway. 

Something that he bitterly regretted. He knew he had no way of knowing how badly it would all work out, how Scott was just not true alpha material. How Scott wasn’t even alpha material. That Scott’s gut instincts were simply awful and that he had a terrible habit of trusting the wrong people. He hadn’t realised just how naive Scott had been, and while that could be an admirable and worthwhile trait, it certainly wasn’t in an alpha. He had seen Scott’s friendship with Stiles, seen how close they were and how they always protected each other. It was those qualities he had been after. The loyalty and protectiveness. Those traits made for good and well-respected alphas. 

He’d known that Scott had been young, too young for what had been thrown at him, and by making him a true alpha, Deaton hadn’t helped, had in fact made it worse. And he’d only been able to see it after the fact. But he’d seen Stiles’ and Scott’s loyalty to each other and had thought that that would win out. He’d already made Scott an alpha before Scott showed that he wasn’t as loyal as Deaton had originally thought to Stiles.

He should have trusted in Talia’s children, had more faith in them. Scott had been too young. And while Talia’s children had always risen to the challenge, Scott had struggled. Deaton had been so sure he would become an incredible alpha: fair and just and beloved, just like Talia. 

Scott had been an outcast, and Deaton had expected Scott to uphold those lessons rather than ignore everything that being an outcast entailed. While the popularity had initially gone to his head, just like it did with everyone, Stiles had reigned Scott back in and Deaton had honestly believed he had made the right choice in Scott. He’d thought Scott’s trusting nature would be an advantage, but it had just been detrimental.

He swirled the ice around in his glass before taking a sip of the whiskey in it. Words of apology were always hard to come by, and he found he didn’t know what to write. There were no words that could make this better, that could take away the pain of what he had done. But he knew he had to try. Even if Derek refused his apology, it was still a start. Even if it meant explaining exactly what he had done. He wondered if Derek knew? If Ava had told him. Maybe he didn’t have to explain everything, just allude to it. He was good at that after all.

He could give Derek the spell and herbs that would take Scott’s true alpha status away from him, but he knew Derek, he would never use it and Deaton couldn’t risk it falling into the wrong hands. He absently wondered if Stiles would be interested in it, but then he would also have to explain to the young man just how he had manipulated him as well in order to give Scott the true alpha spark without a blood sacrifice.

He sighed and pulled out another piece of paper. It seemed he was writing several apologies tonight. He frowned, hesitating, wondering if Scott might know. Shaking his head, he dismissed that thought as he picked up his pen. Scott was too bull-headed to believe that he had been made into a true alpha and wasn’t fated to be one. A letter would never convince him.

  
  


The constant ringing of his phone eventually pulled Isaac out of his trance. He stopped running, calmed his breathing and checked his phone. He looked at it in confusion for a moment as Danny’s name flashed up, then back to the spot where Derek had been, or rather where Derek’s trail had ended.

Isaac hadn’t noticed how that video had affected Derek, not until it was too late, not until Derek was no longer standing there beside him but instead there was a great black wolf running for its life out of the house.

Isaac had seen Derek’s full shift before, but there was something more worrisome about it this time. There had been something in Derek’s eyes, or rather something lacking in his eyes, a lack of humanity and a worrying glint of the wild.

He had followed for as long as he could, but it had only taken seconds for Derek to disappear, his wolf was much faster than Isaac, but he had kept trailing his scent. He’d only heard one howl from Derek. It had been long, sad and mournful. But what scared Isaac the most, was that it had sounded like goodbye.

Only now, as he stood at the bank of a river that he had never known about, it had vanished and Isaac had no idea if Derek had managed to cross it or been swept away. He also had no idea how he was going to cross but knew he needed to try and catch Derek’s scent.

It was his fault Derek was here, his fault that Derek had returned to Beacon Hills and his fault Derek had found this out.

‘Danny?’ He asked hesitantly. If Danny was calling him, then something else terrible must have happened. He wasn’t sure if he could handle anything else happening. He needed to find Derek. They’d been through so much together and Isaac knew how Derek felt about Stiles. He’d barely managed losing Stiles once and even then, it had been touch and go. Isaac didn’t know if Derek would ever be able to get past this.

‘Thank fuck!’ Danny breathed down the phone. ‘What the hell happened to Derek? Jackson and Ethan are freaking out saying he’s dead!’

‘No. No, he’s not dead.’ Isaac replied. He could hear Jackson and Ethan in the background. Ethan reassuring Jackson that he could see still feel something. That it was faint and muted but still there. He hadn’t even thought to check for his own bond to Derek, because they weren’t pack it had never been very strong.

Isaac numbly realised that the only reason they weren't pack was because of Chris. It had been the last conversation they had ever had. Isaac had been angry, he’d stayed with Derek, helping him, stopping him from turning omega and taking him to Cora in South America. He’d wanted to stay with them, and he had for a little while. Until he’d done exactly as Chris had asked and left them. 

It had taken him a month after that to call Chris. He’d thought it strange but not unusual that Chris hadn’t returned his call for a couple days, then a week. Then he’d gotten in touch with Scott and found out that he was missing. He had no idea why Scott hadn’t initially called him. It was Malia who’d been surprised that Isaac had still been close to Chris. He’d been hurt to find out that Chris had rarely spoken about him. Now he just felt disgusted.

‘Isaac!’ Danny voice cut through the haze clouding his thoughts. ‘What happened? Jackson can’t feel the bond to Derek.’

‘He, he isn’t dead, he’s just had a shock.’ Isaac said, not quite understanding why he wasn’t processing what had just happened. He could hear someone else’s phone constantly going off in the car with them.

‘Isaac cut the crap!’

‘I think.’ Isaac took a deep breath and forced his brain to work, to catch up and assimilate. ‘I think he’s gone feral.’

‘What?!’

‘What the fuck?’ Jackson snarled.

Isaac winced. ‘We, we found out what happened to Stiles when he left here nine years ago.’

‘What?’ Isaac could hear Ethan ask. ‘What does that mean? What happened to Stiles?’

‘It was a set-up.’

‘What was a set-up? What’s happened to Derek?’ Jackson demanded loudly. Isaac heard him curse as the other phone started ringing again. Jackson answered it. ‘Cora, I’m finding out now, I’ll put you on speaker. Isaac. Explain. Now.’

‘Derek’s.’ Isaac swallowed. ‘I think Derek’s gone feral.’

‘What?!’ Isaac heard Cora’s voice through the two phones. ‘How?’

Isaac whimpered at the harsh alpha command. ‘Stiles. Stiles was hurt. Derek didn’t take the news well. He wolfed out and ran.’

He heard Cora take a breath. ‘Did you follow him?’

‘I tried but he was too quick. I lost him in the preserve. I’ve followed his scent to a river but I’ve lost it now.’

‘Shit.’ Cora cursed. ‘How was Stiles hurt? I know he’s Derek’s mate but just getting hurt wouldn’t cause him to go feral.’

Isaac paused, guilt clawing at him. It was his fault. He’d trusted Chris, looked to him as a father figure, as pack. Chris had stopped him going feral, not his vague assimilation to the local packs like Chris had believed. He’d never wanted to tell Chris the truth about that and now he knew why. ‘He was kidnapped…’

‘What?’ Jackson squawked before he could continue. ‘We need to go find him and kill whoever has him!’

‘No! Listen!’ Isaac had to shout to be heard. He wasn’t explaining this very well and his head was all over the place. ‘Nine years ago. When Scott pushed Stiles out the pack, when he got Derek to do it for him. Stiles was kidnapped and tortured.’ Isaac took a shaky breath. ‘It was bad. They had him for almost a year.’

There was silence on the other end. 

Isaac could only hear them breathing, it was like he was feeling their shock and horror. Until Jackson finally spoke and it didn’t sound like Jackson at all but someone dark and menacing. ‘Who?’

‘It was planned, it was a set-up.’ Isaac heard his own voice break, unsurprised at the smell of his own salty tears. ‘We were all manipulated.’

‘Who, Isaac.’ Cora demanded.

‘Chris.’ Isaac choked out. ‘Chris Argent.’

  
  


Corey stared at Malia in shock as she walked slowly into his room. She was pale and her eyes were wide and unfocused. ‘Malia?’ 

She didn’t respond but staggered a few steps in before stopping in the centre of the room and staying there, staring at nothing. 

‘Mase, Mason wake up.’ Corey nudged his husband but when that garnered no response, gently battered him around the head.

Mason woke up with a snort, lifting his head from the bed and blinking wearily, staring at him in confusion before he scrunched his face up. Corey guessed that sleeping in a chair but resting against the bed must be hell on his back.

Mason yawned and looked at him worriedly at the same time.

Corey nodded his head into the room, indicating Malia. Since he’d woken up, he’d had at least on e werewolf, usually Liam but sometimes Stacey, Joanna or Terry, on duty guarding him  during visiting hours. 

Outside of visiting hours, Ava had been coming over. Usually they just chatted, but she always had a hand on him somewhere, insisting on skin to skin contact. Since he hadn’t felt a single second of pain, he figured she was actually doing something and this morning he had actually tensed or maybe jerked his calf for a half second. He may have not actually been trying to do that, but it had still happened and he was seeing it as progress, classing it as an accomplishment. 

He understood that she had essentially saved his life, going against Scott’s orders. Not that Scott had said anything about her or it since he’d woken up, but he often looked at Mason with betrayal in his eyes. 

Corey hated him for it.

‘Malia?’ Mason called, pushing himself to his feet. ‘Malia, what is it?’

‘Stiles.’ Corey heard Malia say, surprised at the amount of pain in her voice.

He frowned, seeing his husband glance at him uncertainty. What had happened to Stiles? Were they now friends with him again? They’d never been close with the man but they’d never been against him either. When he’d been pack, he’d been a fount of information and the one they had always gone to and relied on in times of need. But Scott had made it clear with his body language and a few choice words that Stiles was never to be mentioned again and was basically persona non grata. 

Until he’d shown up again recently with no scent which no one in their pack had even realised. If Corey felt embarrassed that a non-pack member had had to point it out to them and their Alpha that Stiles’ scent had been hidden, then Scott should have been down right mortified. But instead he’d brushed it off blaming it on the woman no one had believed had been supernatural or even knew about the supernatural world. But Scott had been right about her and they had been wrong, so very, very wrong. But not in a bad way, it had worked out for them, or well for him, that she was supernatural and powerful. Corey didn’t want to think where he would be without her. Still comatose most likely or even dead. And his husband would be a grieving single father.

‘Stiles?’ Mason repeated, both sounding and looking as confused as he felt. ‘Is he okay?’

‘Chris.’ She said blankly. 

Corey had never seen a werewolf so pale before and certainly not Malia. If he didn’t know her, he might have said she was in shock or something. But he did know her and he had no clue what had happened to her.

‘Chris who?’ Corey asked, but Malia stood in the centre of the room, looking pale and horrified as she swayed on the spot. He turned to his husband. ‘Should we call Scott?’

  
  


‘What did you do?’ Stiles asked once he was safely tucked up on the sofa wedged in between Ava and Lydia, his dad settled into the single sofa and they’d put The Avengers on. The first one. 

He really didn’t want to ask that question, was dreading the answer, but he needed to know. He could guess and he knew, but he needed the confirmation. He needed Ava to actually say what she had done. He needed to hear the words.

Lydia and Noah glanced at Ava as she threw some popcorn into her mouth nonchalantly. ‘I gave them a USB.’

‘Of?’ Stiles pushed faintly. He was glad they weren’t werewolves and that he’d hidden his scent because he could imagine the outpouring of mixed emotions he was emitting: anxiety; dread; pain; blame; hatred; and doubt. Most of it aimed inwards towards himself. If he had been stronger, smarter, quicker, anything, then maybe this might not have happened.

He knew to have expected it, and he had been. He knew that Ava would have given Scott what for, told him exactly what he had done, what his bull-headedness and self-righteousness had caused. Ava always had been protective of him. Well not always, but since they’d become friends. Since she had rescued him, had found him in that hell hole and brought him out. Since she had stayed with him and nursed him back to health. Since she had revealed her gifts and powers and healed him. Since she had taught him how to control and harness his. And she protected her friends fiercely. Only now they were family and she would burn the world down if she thought it was in her family’s best interests.

‘Of Chris’s interview.’

Stiles closed his eyes. He had known. He had. But it still felt like a shock. He still wasn’t quite sure he believed her, but there were her words, echoing in his mind. Chris’s interview. She’d shown it to the werewolves. To Scott. To Isaac. To Derek. God, Derek. What must he be thinking? The stupid, pathetic weak human that had never had a place running with the wolves.

Stiles took a deep breath. He was being unfair. Derek had never said that. No one had. They were just his own insecurities. It wasn’t fair of him to put his own fears into the voice of others. Especially not Derek. Stiles had done his research, and knew that before the fire, there were human members of Derek’s family, of his pack, that Kate had burnt alive just because they were related to werewolves.

‘Good.’ Lydia declared burrowing herself further into Stiles’ side. Giving him reassurance and warmth. ‘It’s about time they realised.’

Stiles swallowed thickly, feeling sick. Had the wolves all stuck around after he’d left? He couldn’t remember who was there when he’d had his panic attack. Had any of them left? He prayed some of them had. Namely that one had. ‘Was Derek there?’

‘And Isaac.’ Ava replied softly.

Stiles shuddered. There was a massive ball in his throat stopping him from swallowing, making it a struggle to breathe. Instead of thinking of what he’d just learnt, he concentrated on that, concentrated on his breathing. In and out. Don’t throw up. Breathe. In and out.

Ava knocked her head into his gently. ‘They needed to know.’

She was right. They had needed to know. Lydia had wanted to go storming over to them the second Ava had rescued him, throwing it in their faces what had happened to him. What she believed they had allowed to happen to him when they had turned their backs on him and refused to even help look for him.

‘I don’t want to intrude.’ Kira’s voice was hesitant. ‘But I don’t understand what’s happening.’

Stiles tensed, avoiding her eyes. Ava nudged him and he glanced at her. Her look was questioning and he nodded. There was no point not telling Kira when everyone else knew now.

‘Chris Argent manipulated Scott into kicking Stiles out of the pack. He then held Stiles against his will and tortured him for almost a year.’

‘Oh god.’ Kira whispered, looking horrified.

He tensed and looked away. In a way he was glad she was the only one who had followed. He wasn’t sure he could face anyone, definitely not any of the wolves. He knew no one would allow any of Scott’s pack in, but he didn’t think he could even face Derek or Isaac. He didn’t know what he would do if he saw pity in their eyes.

He shivered and felt Ava wrap a blanket around him. He didn’t know why he was so cold. While he still felt on edge from the panic attack, he didn’t think he should be feeling so cold. He cuddled into the warmth. Warmth he was struggling to feel.

Kira stood up and he stared at her in dread. But she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, practically lying on top of him in order to do so. He frowned in alarm at Ava but wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. 

It took him longer that he would like to admit, to realise that her shaking was actually her crying into his neck.

  
  
  
  



	17. Chapter 17

Isaac sighed in relief. There was no doubt about it, he’d picked up Derek's trail. 

He cocked his head to one side as he heard a bird overheard. That was reassuring. He’d been noticing for the past couple weeks how the forest and preserve had been getting quieter. Derek had been the one to notice it first. He still couldn’t understand it but it felt like the wildlife had gone into hiding. 

Which would actually make sense, he realised, they might be sensing the vampires, not that he could figure out what the vampires would be doing in the preserve. But the sound of the bird chirping overhead and the faint rustle of leaves and heartbeat of a small animal, most likely a hedgehog, reassured him and he pulled out his phone.

‘Isaac. Any sign?’ Ethan asked as he answered Jackson’s phone on the second ring.

‘I picked up his scent again.’ Isaac said. ‘It leads deep into the preserve. I’m following it now.’

‘Shit.’ Ethan cursed. ‘Be careful. If the vampires really are after the nemeton you could be in danger. Who else is with you?’

Isaac sighed. The vampires were after the nemeton? They were even worse news than he’d originally thought. He wondered if Scott knew about that but immediately cut down that train of thought. He didn’t want anything more to do with Scott. He wasn’t ready to think about that video, didn’t think he could face the pain it would bring. And right now, he could ignore it, he had Derek to worry about instead. ‘I’m on my own.’

‘What?!’

‘What the hell?!’ He heard Jackson curse.

‘Where the hell is McCall and his pack?’

Isaac shrugged, forgetting they couldn’t see him. He didn’t really care where Scott or the others were. ‘Dunno. I left them at Derek’s to chase after him. No one was following us.’

‘Fucking arseholes.’ Ethan muttered.

Isaac could also hear growling in the background.

‘What about Stiles? Ava? The girls?’ Ethan asked quickly. ‘You can’t be out there alone Isaac, it’s too dangerous.’

‘They left before we watched the video. After what we saw, there’s no way I can call any of them.’ Isaac admitted. 

Stiles had been through so much and also abandoned by those who should have known better. There was no way he could ask them to help him track down Derek amidst even more danger. Isaac may not have been there, been around or been pack, but it didn’t stop him from feeling guilty, from thinking he could have done something to help.

‘We’re an hour or so out, tell us where you are and we’ll meet you. And call Parrish. Surely hellhounds are effective against vampires, what with being covered in fire and all.’

Isaac paused and looked around; he didn’t recognise where he was. He sniffed, he could vaguely smell water. ‘Fine, I’ll call Jordan. South side of the preserve. I think I’m somewhere near there. Call me when you're close and I’ll meet you at the service road, by the Rangers cabin.’

‘Don’t do anything stupid Isaac. Call us if there’s even a leaf out of place.’ Jackson growled.

Isaac snorted but a smile crossed his face. He knew that Jackson had always had a heart, he just kept it very well buried. But he didn't want to admit that his reception was getting spotty and he was sure that soon he’d be out of cell reception completely. ‘I will. Thanks.’

He hung up and stared at his phone for several seconds before he sniffed the air again, Derek’s scent hadn’t changed, faint but still there. He knew it would stay that way for a little longer, they weren’t due any rain and there was barely any wind. He sighed before eventually calling Parrish. He had the time to wait for him, and Ethan and Jackson were right, he wouldn’t be doing Derek any good if he got himself killed by vampires. 

What the hell did vampires want with the nemeton anyway?

‘Stiles, how did nobody know?’ Kira asked. She couldn’t get her head around the fact that almost an entire pack had ignored this happening. A pack was meant to be stronger than that, better than that. A pack was supposed to protect its members, or at least be there for them.

‘None of them wanted to know.’ Noah cut in harshly.

Kira flinched at the venom and hatred in his voice. She had never heard him like this before, he’d always been the Sheriff, calm and unflappable, or Stiles’ father, never surprised and always resigned but with a smile on his face as he usually found the humorous side of things. She could understand his feelings though, this was his son, his baby boy, no matter how grown up or old Stiles may be. And those Stiles and the Sheriff had once considered friends, allies and family, had betrayed him, betrayed them both really.

Stiles shrugged. ‘I don’t really know what their story is, why they refused to help or even consider the possibility, and…’ He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. ‘I’m not too sure I want to.’

‘Noah and I begged them to help, to get them to see.’ Lydia virtually snarled. ‘Scott ignored us, Malia was hesitant and about to help when Scott stopped her.’

Kira winced but she could remember how sincere Scott had always come across. How believable. She had never doubted him when they’d been together. ‘And the others?’

Lydia shrugged. ‘Wouldn’t go against their alpha, not that that had ever stopped any of them before.’

‘They’d never really been my friends so probably didn’t feel the need to go against Scott or listen to my dad and Lydia.’

‘But hadn’t you all been pack?’ Kira frowned. She knew she hadn’t been around the last years of high school, having been with the skinwalkers. But she’d helped them against Theo when he’d been the one they were fighting against. And last she’d known, while the pack hadn’t been great, it had still been working efficiently.

She still wasn’t quite sure why Theo was now pack. When the skinwalkers had let her go and she’d come back, Malia had said Scott had accepted him into the pack a year or so after she’d left. Which she could imagine would create a lot of dissension with what he had done but she couldn’t imagine them not helping when Stiles went missing.

‘Yeah.’ Stiles nodded. ‘But so was Chris and well…’ He trailed off shrugging. ‘You saw how that ended.’

Kira opened her mouth to reply but realised she had no idea what to say to that. ‘But Scott though? He was your best friend!’

Stiles laughed but it was a broken and sad sound. ‘Yeah, I don’t know if you heard everything that happened with Theo and the Dread Doctors?’

Kira felt herself frown and shook her head. ‘I know you had trouble with him even though he’s now pack. I sent him to the skinwalkers but Liam got him back. That he was needed to help you guys out.’

‘No.’ Stiles shook his head. ‘Theo sent one of his chimera’s after me, he wanted me and my dad dead. He fell in the fight and was impaled, I thought I’d killed him. Theo told Scott I’d murdered him in cold blood and Scott believed him, told me to leave the pack.’

‘What?’ Kira stared at him in horror. ‘But it was self-defence!’

Stiles nodded and smiled grimly. ‘Yeah, took me a long time to realise that. Then Liam needed Theo’s help, he’d fallen in love with one of the chimeras and wanted to save her. So, you know, getting him back? That was suddenly a totally okay thing to do. Next came the Ghost Riders. They took me, no one remembered my existence. Eventually it was my Goddess Lydia who remembered me. Not Scott. But they got me out and with Theo’s and Peter’s help, Peter willingly got himself burnt alive again, defeated the Ghost Riders. So Scott made Theo pack. By then we’d graduated, Scott stayed local for the pack while I had my first and only year at the FBI. I loved it and knew being with them would help out the pack. I even helped save Derek to the detriment of my toe, and came back for Scott and the pack. A year later, I was out.’

‘Oh God.’ Kira whispered feeling suddenly sick. She had no idea things had gotten so bad. From what Stiles was saying, even Peter had gone above and beyond to help them, but it didn’t sound as if he was pack. How many times had Peter been burnt by now? And Scott? What had he been thinking? Trusting Theo after that? He’d never trusted Ethan or Aiden after they’d been a part of the alpha pack, not even when Lydia dated Aiden, so why would he trust Theo?

‘Of course, we knew that Stiles hadn’t simply left.’ Lydia took over.

‘It was obvious whoever had written those emails knew a little about Stiles but nowhere near enough to be convincing.’ Noah snorted.

‘But surely Scott could see that?’ The words were out of Kira’s mouth before she could stop them and she immediately winced in regret. Scott quite obviously hadn’t seen that.

Lydia snorted while Noah shook his head.

‘Scott thought we were,’ Noah shrugged, looking resigned and suddenly older than he had a minute ago. ‘I don’t know, he thought Stiles was attention seeking and we were buying into it or some such nonsense.’

‘Scott bought whatever bullshit Chris fed him.’ Lydia said bluntly.

‘How did.’ Kira winced as she realised what she had been about to ask and how awful it sounded. ‘How did you get away?’

They all fell silent and Kira glanced around them all in surprise.

‘Lydia managed to convince me to look for him.’ Ava eventually said, her tone was wry and Kira didn’t understand.

‘When we were looking for Stiles, I heard rumours of a woman who was powerful but not likely to help.’ Lydia said quietly. ‘Nobody knew much about her, but her name was always spoken in hushed, quiet tones. When even Jackson and Ethan came up with nothing. I began looking for her.’

‘Wait!’ Stiles looked startled. ‘Jackson and Ethan? They helped look for me?’

Lydia nodded, her casual shrug completely at odds with the firm set to her face. ‘They were the only werewolves I could find willing to help. No one knew where Derek was and it was either them or Cora.’

‘Cora?’ Stiles looked surprised.

Lydia nodded. ‘Not that I had any way to contact her.’

Stiles grinned at her. ‘But you’d have found a way.’

She arched an eyebrow. ‘Of course I would have. I found Ava. Even if it did take me six months.’ She added with a grumble.

‘I have since made it easier to find me.’ Ava added with an eye roll.

‘And convince you.’ Lydia’s voice was dry and utterly unimpressed.

‘And convince me.’ Ava repeated dutifully.

‘How did you find him?’ Kira asked.

Ava shrugged. ‘I tracked him using something he loved and that had imprinted his essence.’

‘What does that mean?’ Kira blinked.

‘She used me.’ Noah said bluntly.

Kira felt her eyes widen. She’d heard of that. Or rather she’d heard rumours of that and that you had to be incredibly powerful for it to even partly work. Finding Stiles like that was serious magic. Kira had guessed that Ava was powerful, but she’d thought that was with a different type of magic. If Ava could easily use different types of magic, then Kira had absolutely no idea of what she might actually be. And it explained why Ava never told anyone, she might not know herself. Unless she was actually a Whisper. No one knew much about them but they were rumoured to be unparalleled in their power. ‘How long did that take?’

Ava winced and hunched down behind Stiles who was looking amused.

‘A day.’ Lydia practically spat. ‘It took me six months to find you, twenty-nine days to convince you and you found him in a day.’

Kira stared in alarm as Stiles shook in front of Ava. It took her a second to realise he was laughing.

  
  
  


‘Isaac.’ Parrish greeted him with a dry look combined with dubious eyebrows. ‘What are you doing in the middle of the preserve?’

Isaac chuckled. ‘Thanks for coming. And I’m not in the middle of the preserve. Yet. That’s why you’re here.’

‘You said something about Derek and the vampires, I’m still not sure I fully understand.’ He admitted, looking slightly confused but willing to go ahead with him.

Isaac winced. ‘I think Derek’s turned feral and he ran off into the preserve.’

Parrish looked at him alarmed. ‘He was fine the other day. I didn’t think it could happen that quickly?’

‘He,’ Isaac sighed. He didn’t know much he should say to Parrish, he worked with Stiles’ dad and Isaac had no idea how much the Sheriff knew, or how much Parrish knew for that matter. ‘He had a shock, some really, really bad news, and didn’t take it well. I’m tracking him, only the vampires might be around as well.’

Parrish nodded. ‘And Ava thinks I can fight better against the vampires than werewolves can.’

Isaac snorted. Why did that not surprise him? No wonder Ethan had told him to call Parrish. Was he the only one who didn’t seem to know anything around here? ‘At the moment, it feels like anything supernatural can fight vampires better than werewolves can.’

Parrish grinned at him. ‘So far, only in this town.’

Isaac snorted before Parrish’s words clicked in his mind. ‘Wait, Ava thinks you can fight the vampires?’

Parrish shrugged. ‘Well, she said banshees and kitsunes were more effective than werewolves, but she said the seer won’t seek me out.’

Isaac blinked. ‘Seer?’

‘Ah.’ Parrish winced. ‘You weren’t there for that little nugget.’

‘Do I want to know?’ Isaac asked, feeling resigned. He really was out of the loop on everything. Although he had a feeling that Scott and the pack didn’t know any of this either which he wasn’t too sure if that made him feel any better or not.

Parrish shrugged. ‘She doesn’t have any proof but thinks there’s a seer in charge of the vampires.’

‘Is that why they want the nemeton?’ Not that Isaac knew anything about seers or that they were actually a thing. All he knew about seers was what he’d learned from tv shows.

‘Dunno.’ Parrish frowned, looking confused. ‘She wasn’t very clear on that.’

‘Right.’ Isaac wiped a hand over his face before he clapped Parrish on the shoulder. ‘You up for a hike?’

Parrish sighed. ‘Yeah lead on. Not that I know what I can do.’

Isaac grinned and started walking, following Derek’s scent. He was sticking to a trail now, so at least they didn’t have to beat through any bushes like Isaac had been doing previously. ‘If you hear any voices that aren’t mine, flame on.’

Parrish groaned. ‘Seriously? You think I haven’t heard that one before?’

‘Let me guess, Stiles?’ Isaac laughed before falling silent and wincing.

‘Who else? What?’ Parrish frowned, staring at him worried. ‘Are they here?’

Isaac shook his head. ‘No, just Stiles.’

Parrish grimaced. ‘Ah, I know that look. You know.’

Isaac whipped his head around to stare at him.

‘You know?’

Parrish nodded grimly. ‘Yeah, Noah confided in me when he got back from looking after Stiles.’

‘How…’ Isaac swallowed. ‘How long was he gone?’

‘Almost a year. Took a sabbatical, same as Melissa.’

‘Melissa?’ Isaac asked, feeling sick. Melissa knew too. Melissa, his last mother figure knew that the man he looked up to as a father figure had kidnapped and tortured one of the people she looked at like a son.

Parrish nodded. ‘Lydia too. Physically, Ava healed him, but mentally... it took time.’

‘I. I trusted Chris. I thought of him as my father.’ Isaac admitted, his voice hoarse, tears pushing at his eyes. ‘I loved him. He was my pack. He kept me from going Omega, from going feral and killing people.’

‘People aren’t black and white Isaac.’ Parrish’s voice was gentle and Isaac didn’t feel as if he could look at him. ‘They aren’t good or evil. Good people can do evil things, and evil people can do good things. Most have a mix in them and depending on the circumstances, one will be more prevalent than the other.’

‘I know that. I know Scott’s wrong in some of his views, that the world isn’t black or white or that we shouldn’t kill when there isn’t any other option.’ Isaac said, his voice coming out colder than he’d anticipated.

‘And Chris isn’t black or white either. He was good to you, but evil to Stiles, but it was out of grief for his daughter. You understand the grief you feel from losing a loved one? From losing family?’

Isaac nodded, feeling a lump rise in his throat as he tried to swallow. Yes he knew that feeling. His mom, his brother. His father turned in his grief from losing them and took it out on him. He’d been innocent in it just like Stiles. While Allison’s murderer may have worn Stiles’ face, it hadn’t been Stiles. Chris had known that, or at least Isaac had thought he had known that. Maybe, as Chris had said in the video, being back in Beacon Hills and around Stiles all the time, had been too much for him. But he should have said something, and Scott should have sensed something. Werewolves can smell emotions, surely Scott would have been able to smell Chris’s volatile emotions whenever he saw Stiles?

  
  


Cora knew that flying was going to get her to Beacon Hills quicker than driving or even running, but it involved a hell of a lot of sitting around and waiting. She felt as if she was crawling out of her skin. She was desperately trying to keep her temper under control but she was ready to snap and wolf out at the next person who so much as walked past her.

She knew she should have accepted the offer of another pack member to come with her, but they were already spread too thin. They were a small pack and while they were safe and their territory protected, she still wouldn’t leave it completely defenceless. She’d ordered the remaining pack members to stay at home. Jackson and Ethan were almost back in Beacon Hills and one other pack member had been travelling. She hadn’t even needed to get a hold of him before she’d heard he was heading there. There was no point in ordering him to stay home, or rather head home, he was brilliant at ignoring orders that he didn’t see the point of. But he was still further away and she would definitely beat him there by at least a day or two.

She could still feel the bond to Derek but it was muted and faint. It had always been there but after the pain she had felt and her initial panic she hadn’t realised that. It was only once she’d calmed down after Isaac’s explanation and claims of Derek having gone feral, that she sort out the bond and felt its faint tendrils.

She growled as she looked up to the boarding screen and saw that she still had another hour and a half to wait.

‘Should we go down there?’ Jordan frowned as they looked down into the little glen that Derek appeared to have made his den in.

Isaac shook his head. ‘No, I don’t want to scare him away. We don’t know if he is feral but he’ll be more likely to respond to his pack than anyone else.’

‘You called?’

Parrish whipped around at the distant voice, seeing Isaac tilt his head as he sniffed the air then roll his eyes. 

‘Really?’ Isaac asked but he sounded more relieved than anything else.

‘What?’ Ethan asked innocently as he emerged from the trees with Jackson. 

‘It’s too dangerous for me, but for you two it's fine?’

‘Yeah well.’ Jackson glared at him but didn’t actually explain any further.

It was clear to Jordan that Jackson didn’t actually have a reason and that he would rather take the risk to find his friend and packmate.

‘Well, you made it one piece.’ Jordan quickly said. He didn’t think anything would get out of hand, but he already had one possibly feral werewolf on his hands. He really didn’t want anything else to go wrong. ‘And Derek’s down there.’

He nodded his head, surprised when Ethan lifted his head and sniffed the air instead of approaching for a look.

‘We’re downwind.’ Ethan frowned.

‘Is that a problem?’

Jackson shrugged.

‘I want to know how Derek will react to our scents before we go confront him with our presence.’

‘We’re not confronting him.’ Jackson grumbled.

‘He’s feral Jacks, us appearing down there will feel like a confrontation to him.’ Ethan explained sadly.

‘You guys are the experts.’ Jordan shrugged. The only feral werewolves he’d seen had been omegas with no family or packs. Nor was he the one responsible for dealing with them. That had all been Scott’s department. He didn’t get involved in pack business, being a hellhound, he felt no need or pull towards a pack. And he was beginning to see just how much Scott helped when he dealt with these, however it wasn’t helping him now. He knew there was a lot of tension between Scott and Stiles, and to be quite honest, he was on Stiles’ side every single time, but he’d thought things were ok between Scott and Derek. But there was no sign of Scott or any of his pack. ‘We’ll take your lead.’

Isaac nodded. ‘What do you want us to do?’

‘You two stay here. In fact, I’ll stay as well. Jackson you need to approach him slowly and from upwind, let him smell you coming and go slowly. We need to see how he’ll react.’

Jackson nodded. ‘How are you expecting him to react?’

Ethan winced. ‘One of two ways, but I’m really hoping he’ll allow you to approach. From there I’m hoping we can talk him into shifting back or coming with us. I’m really not sure.’

‘Okay.’ Jackson sighed and rolled his shoulders. ‘What’s the other way?’

Ethan winced. ‘He’ll run. In which case I have no clue what to do apart from follow and hope he doesn't lose us.’

‘Neither sounds exactly hopeful.’ Jordan pointed out. But it did explain why there was no sign of Scott or his pack. He knew the basics about werewolves and packs, and another pack would most likely put Derek’s back up and immediately get him on the defensive.

Ethan shrugged. ‘I haven’t dealt with many feral werewolves, not ones that I wanted to live anyway.’

‘Shit.’ Isaac cursed.

Jordan gave him a disbelieving look, he didn’t want to put more pressure on them, but surely they had a better plan than this? Surely they knew how to get their packmate back?

‘Hey Mel.’ Noah answered the phone, his voice sounding sad, on her second ring. 

‘What’s wrong? What is it?’ She asked, forgoing any pleasantries. His text hadn’t exactly reassured her. “Call me when you can. ASAP. Everyone’s fine.” And it had been sent hours ago. She’d only just gotten off shift.

‘I wanted to give you a heads up. Scott knows.’ 

Melissa went quiet. There was only one thing that Noah could be talking about. ‘About Chris?’

‘Yeah, the meet didn’t exactly go so well. I don’t know the details but Ava ended up showing them the video of his interrogation. They didn’t stick around to see anyone’s reaction.’

Melissa closed her eyes as an unidentifiable but heavy emption hit her. ‘Shit. Who else was there?’

‘I don’t know from Scott’s pack, but Isaac, Derek and Kira were there.’ Noah sighed. ‘Kira didn’t stay for the video, she’s been here with Stiles and the girls. She’s been asking some questions. She’s understandably upset. They all are.’

Melissa needed to see them, to see both Stiles and Noah and make sure with her own eyes that they were okay. She got this feeling every single time she thought or was reminded of what had happened. ‘My shift’s over, I’ll come straight over.’

‘Mells.’ Noah's voice was soft but it still made her pause. It was his reassuring tone and she honestly didn’t know if she’d have been able to handle any of this without him. ‘He’s doing okay. Stiles is holding it together. I just don’t know about Scott.’

It felt as if there was a lump in her throat choking her. He’d been her rock throughout all of this just as she’d been his. ‘Scott needed his eyes opened.’

‘I know I don’t have a lot of good feelings for Scott at the moment, but he’s still your boy, and I will always love that about him.’

Melissa sniffed, tears springing into her eyes. ‘Thanks Noah.’ She hung up before she could completely break down over the phone and instead pushed her face into the jumper hanging over her locked, and allowed herself to cry into that.

Noah may have seen her cry over the years, especially over Stiles, but after that first breakdown she’d had when she’d learnt about her son’s involvement in Stiles’ kidnapping, she’d never let either of them see her cry over Scott again.

‘Goddamn it!’ Isaac heard Parrish curse from the bush he’d been thrown into. He would have smirked at the irony but as it was, he was crawling out of the bog that Derek had seemed to inadvertently have tossed him into.

‘Fuck.’ Jackson roared as he came to a halt beside him. ‘Do we follow?’

‘No!’ Ethan called, sounding in pain.

Isaac stood up, flicking mud out of his eyes before he heard a thud and saw Ethan land awkwardly next to Jackson.

Jackson automatically grabbed hold of his husband, pawing at his ripped shirt frantically, inspecting the wound that was already healing. Isaac point blank refused to point out the other wound that Jackson couldn’t see that still had foliage sticking out of it.

‘We follow slowly. So that Derek doesn’t smell us.’ Ethan panted. ‘And keep downwind from him.’

‘And then what?’ Parrish beat Isaac into asking.

Derek had not taken nicely to them approaching him. Ethan had changed his mind about where they should wait. If it went wrong then they would be straight in Derek’s flight path. So they were to follow but at a distance. Which turned out to be the only good part of the plan.

The bad part started with the growling. But after pausing and waiting for several moments, Jackson and Ethan had decided to forge ahead even though the growling hadn’t abated. That was their first mistake.

Derek’s hackles had been up when they’d made it into the glen which had been their second mistake. Their third was Jackson taking a step closer.

Derek hadn’t allowed any of them any further before he attacked.

Which was where Isaac and Jordan had made their fourth mistake. Charging in to help Jackson and Ethan who, not wanting to hurt their packmate, were losing.

‘Cora’s almost here. Hopefully she’ll have a better plan than I did.’ Ethan sounded disgusted with himself as he leant against Jackson, wincing as he pulled the small branch out of his side.

‘Cora?’ Isaac repeated, frowning in confusion. He hadn’t seen Cora since he’d left Derek with her and her pack in South America about five years ago. He hadn’t heard from her since. And if she was still in South America, it would be taking her a lot longer to get here. ‘Why’s she… Oh my God! She’s your Alpha?’

‘Yeah and she’s gonna be pissed.’ Jackson grumbled.

‘Why?’ Isaac frowned. Neither Ethan nor Jackson had done anything wrong.

‘Because you’re right. Her brother is feral.’

Melissa stared at her phone as it carried on ringing. It was Scott. She meant to answer it, she’d planned on answering it. But all she could see was Stiles. Stiles when she’d finally gotten to the house Ava had been living in, where she had taken Stiles to heal him. He’d already been mostly healed by that point. But it was how he flinched at everything, every noise, every movement, every touch.

The ringing stopped but she still stared at the phone. She knew that Scott hadn’t had anything to do with that, but he had refused to help Noah when he’d asked, and when she’d asked. He’d dismissed them both, and while she would never voice it, she often wondered what would have happened if he had listened to them.

Her phone flashed with an answer message. She swallowed and rang her voice mail. 

‘Mom? Mom, I really need to talk to you.’ Scott sighed into the phone. ‘Look mom, please call me when you get this message. I went to that meeting with Stiles and Ava. And I guess you were right about Ava; I really don’t know. But. But something bad happened to Stiles and I really need your advice. I don’t know what to do mom.’

Scott took a breath. She could hear his voice beginning to break. ‘I can’t lose him mom, he’s my best friend. I need to fix this but I don’t know how. Please mom, just call me back.’

She closed her eyes in relief and held the phone to her chest as fresh tears pushed at her eyes. Finally. Her boy was realising what he’d done and coming back. He wanted to make amends, was trying to make amends. Her boy was coming back. Maybe she hadn’t failed as a mother.

‘Have you found him?’ Cora rushed the second she saw Jackson and made a beeline for him and Ethan. She’d rented the fastest car she could at the airport and broken all speed limits getting here. Jackson and Ethan had been keeping her updated along with routine group check-ins for the entire pack’s peace of mind, so she’d known which area of the preserve to head to. She hadn’t had any trouble following their scent in either.

‘Yeah.’ Jackson sighed but pulled Cora into a quick hug allowing her to scent mark him at the same time. She felt him relax at the contact. ‘Isaac was right, he’s gone feral. But he’s holed up about a mile further in, we’ve stayed with him but he won’t let any of us near him.’

‘Does he recognise any of you?’ She asked, turning to Ethan to hug and scent mark him as well. She nodded to the man who must be Jordan Parrish over Ethan’s shoulder. It wasn’t the best way to introduce herself as alpha to another supernatural creature and while they had never met, she had heard plenty about him.

Jackson shook his head. ‘He isn’t acting like he is. Hopefully he will with you.’

‘Lead the way.’ Cora agreed with them but didn’t really hold out much hope.

Derek hadn’t recognised his pack, which was not a good sign. He shouldn’t have been able to turn this feral this quickly. None of it was good and if he didn’t recognise her then she wasn’t sure what to do. She prayed that he did, otherwise she might be forced to do something that he would hate her for doing.

‘I take it I’m still acting as a bodyguard?’ Jordan asked but Cora noted the amused tone in his voice and expression.

‘Thank you, Sheriff Parrish.’ She told him, attempting to give him a smile. ‘I wish we could have met under better circumstances but I’ve heard good things about you.’

He grinned at her. ‘Call me Jordan. You must be the female Derek Hale.’

Cora barked a laugh although she was sure that Jackson and Ethan’s updates had said that he’d been here with Isaac. ‘You know Stiles well then. I thought Isaac was here with you?’

‘He needed to go. Something about grading and lesson planning. He called in sick to the school today.’ Jordan explained. Cora nodded her thanks as he held a branch out the way for her.

‘He managed to track Derek though?’ Cora checked.

‘Yeah.’ Jackson nodded. ‘Didn’t do too badly. He stayed with him until we got there.’

That was high praise coming from Jackson. She wondered if he’d had a change of heart where Isaac was concerned or was actually just thankful for his help. If Isaac hadn’t been so far up Scott’s arse, she would have offered him a place in her pack. But after what Scott had done to her brother, he and his pack, which was soon to include Isaac, could go rot in hell as far as she was concerned.

‘We tried to approach and he flipped.’ Ethan grumbled but she could smell his fear and worry.

Cora knew he had seen a lot when he’d been part of the Alpha pack and the fact that he was this worried about Derek, well Cora knew it wasn’t good. And if Derek didn’t respond to her, then she only had one plan B. If it worked Derek would be furious with her, but she wasn’t sure she would care as long as it worked. Which was a lie, she would be betraying his trust and Derek didn’t trust easily. But getting him back would be worth it. She could regain his trust.

‘How badly?’ Cora dreaded his answer but needed to know what she would be up against.

‘Nothing we haven’t already healed from.’ Jackson said darkly.

Cora swallowed. This was not going to go well but she prayed it would. She didn’t want to break Derek’s trust and have to go with her last resort. He’d put his faith in her time and time again and she would not let him down. She would get her brother back, whatever it took.

‘I’m so sorry Stiles. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t know.’ There were tears running down Scott’s face as he hiccupped. 

Stiles stared at his former best friend as he wondered whether or not to believe him. But he knew that there was really no choice. Scott had always been a crappy liar. He really hadn’t known, had really believed that Stiles had wanted out and he was helping him. 

Stiles just couldn’t believe how stupid Scott was. He was an alpha for God’s sake. He wasn’t allowed to make these mistakes.

‘Why?’ Stiles eventually asked. ‘Why did you do it?’

‘I thought it was what you wanted! I thought I was helping you!’ Scott’s face was earnest.

‘Why did you think I would want that?’ He wanted to understand, to understand how Scott had rationalised it away, how had he thought pushing him away could have been for the best? Especially without even talking to him about it.

‘You’re human Stiles! You don’t have to live this life! Why would you want to?’

Stiles winced, the words physically hurting him. How was Scott so dense? ‘Maybe because all my friends, everyone I loved, lived this life. And I wanted to be a part of that, to be with family.’

‘But you could have a normal life. Have friends who don’t howl at the moon and put your life in danger every other day.’

‘So, you thought, what? Instead of talking to me about it, like any friend or alpha would do, to just kick me out. No explaining, no hugging, no platitudes, just kicked away like a piece of trash?’

Scott winced. ‘No, it wasn’t like that!’

‘It was exactly like that!’ Stiles shouted, surprised to see Scott cower. ‘And you didn’t even have the guts to do it yourself. I had to go to you for an explanation.’

‘You deserved the world Stiles! You’re intelligent, you could have done anything! Gone to a brilliant college, continued with the FBI.’

Stiles stared at him, feeling a faint tendril of disgust as he looked at his childhood best friend. ‘So is Lydia. She got into every single Ivy league college going but you didn’t kick her out!’

‘I’m sorry Stiles. I thought I was doing the right thing.’

That was the crux of the matter. Scott always thought he was in the right. Stiles knew they could rehash this a million times and Scott would never understand. And it was pointless trying to get it through to him. But there was something else that he needed to know and couldn’t understand. ‘Why did you get Derek to do it? To kick me out?’

Scott’s face darkened. ‘Because he needed to know there was no hope.’

‘No hope?’ Stiles frowned, wondering what on earth Scott was on about now. ‘No hope for what?’

‘That there was no way you would ever choose him! Want to be with him! I mean what was he thinking?!’ Scott ranted. Stiles blinked, was Scott saying what he thought he was saying? ‘You’re straight! And you’d finally gotten the girl of your dreams! And he really thought you would choose him?!’

‘Scott.’ Stiles asked slowly, his brain seemed to have frozen and he needed Scott to spell this out to him. ‘What are you saying?’

‘Derek wanted you!’ Scott laughed. It wasn’t harsh and cruel, just incredulous. Stiles wasn’t sure if it was because Scott didn’t think anyone would pick Stiles without him wearing them down, or if it was because he thought Stiles would never see Derek that way. Either way, it was an insult to both of them.

‘Scott.’ Stiles whispered horrified. ‘What did you do?’

Scott stared at Stiles as if he was the one astonished. ‘What do you think I did? You’re not gay Stiles, and it was Derek! The guy with the murderbrows! I might trust him in a fight or on werewolf business, but his track record in relationships is shit! And he ruined my chance at a normal life!’

Stiles blinked, feeling completely taken aback. This wasn’t the Scott he had grown up with, this was the Scott that had kicked him out, uncaring of the consequences, the Scott that was right because he was a true alpha. ‘Firstly Scott, no I’m not gay, I’m bisexual. Secondly, what are you talking about? What chance at a normal life? You’re a werewolf!’

‘When he killed Peter!’ Scott shot back. Stiles wasn’t sure if Scott had just ignored the fact that he was bisexual and therefore also liked dudes but he had bigger fish to fry. ‘If he hadn't killed Peter and let me do it then I would be human again!’

‘Are you serious? All of your talk of not killing! How many times have you preached that this pack doesn’t kill and yet you think you were ready to kill when you were sixteen? And newsflash Scott, that old-wives tale is complete and utter bollocks! If Derek had somehow managed to get you into a position to kill Peter, then you would have become an alpha, way before you were ready to. How do you think you would have handled that? Because even when you were ready and became a so-called true fucking alpha, you’ve still been shit at it!’

Scott blinked at him, looking startled and hurt. ‘What? You think I’m a shit alpha?’

‘Well you did kick me out the pack. Twice. Because you never listen to me!’

‘I, I, I’m sorry Stiles. I honestly thought I was doing the right thing. I mean it was Derek! You were finally with Lydia, the girl you’d been in love with since we were six! Your ten-year plan worked! I wasn’t going to let Derek ruin that!’

‘Do you really think that he would have?’ Stiles asked quietly, he was desperately trying to keep his cool and not use his magic against Scott. There was no way that Scott could honestly believe he was being a good guy doing what he had to Derek. ‘Do you really think Derek would have been that selfish to break up a couple? But newsflash for you Scott. Derek didn’t ruin it. You did.’

Scott frowned. ‘Are you honestly trying to tell me that you would have dumped Lydia for Derek?’

Stiles stared at him in open mouthed disgust. ‘Oh my God, Scott! You’re not listening to me! That was not your call to make. You should have stayed out of it! If I had wanted to dump Lydia for Derek, what the hell would that have to do with you? If I wanted to give up sex for the rest of my life, again, what the hell would it have to do with you? If I decided that I was only into guys, it would also have fuck all to do with you. Same as if I only ever wanted to date girls. It was none of your fucking business. Who the hell do you think you were getting involved?’

Scott finally looked like he was getting the point. His shoulders were hunched in himself. ‘I’m sorry. I, I thought I was your best friend.’

‘Really? Some best fucking friend. You kicked me out so I could get kidnapped by Chris!’

‘I’m, I'm so sorry Stiles.’ Scott said, his voice wavering. ‘I didn’t know.’

Stiles froze when he realised he could see tears in Scott’s eyes. But he wasn’t giving in yet. ‘What are you sorry for?’

‘Everything. For Chris. For listening to him. For thinking that I knew you best. For hurting you.’

Stiles swallowed, or rather tried to. There was a large lump in his throat stopping him. ‘What about for thinking you could decide who I dated?’

Scott nodded quickly. ‘That as well. I’m sorry. Your right, nothing gives me the right to decide who you can or cannot date.’

Stiles took a deep breath. ‘Are you sorry for what you did to Derek?’

Scott frowned at him, looking utterly confused. ‘What did I do to Derek?’


	18. Chapter 18

  
  


‘Isaac?’ Danny asked gently. ‘Are you okay?’

Isaac swallowed loudly and shrugged. He wasn’t okay, he was far from it. He still couldn’t believe it. Chris. The man he thought of as family and had been searching for for years. And to find out that Scott had been so easily manipulated. Apparently again. 

This was the last straw. Enough was enough. He’d left Beacon Hills once to never return. But he had, thinking that times had changed, and while they had, the people hadn’t.

He’d come back for Danny, so that he could find a pack and be stable for him, and now he had left. But it was Danny that he wanted to be with. He was done with Beacon Hills and Scott. He’d called in sick this morning to the school, but he was on the verge of handing in his notice and leaving altogether. He just didn’t know whether to hand in his two weeks’ notice, get out of Beacon Hills and chance finding positions as a sub or to stay for the rest of the school year. 

Could he afford to leave without staying the year? Subbing meant moving to wherever there was work, which now that he didn’t have Danny, it wasn’t a problem. Not that it had ever been a problem before, but they’d both felt the pull to settle down and make somewhere their own.

Maybe if he spoke to Danny about it, seeing as he’d come back. Danny had always listened and been there for him. Been a voice of reason and reassurance.

‘They’re gonna get Derek back.’ Danny said gently, reminding him that were more important issues to deal with than his own at the moment. ‘We’ll figure something out to get him back.’

‘It’s not.’ Isaac swallowed again. ‘It’s not just that.’

‘Isaac?’

‘What happened to Stiles.’

Danny paused. ‘You said Chris kidnapped him and tortured him.’

Isaac nodded. He felt the tears push at his eyes and clenched his teeth together to stop them. The man didn’t deserve his tears. 

‘You saw Chris as a father figure.’ Danny whispered.

Isaac nodded, biting his lip to stop the tears as the betrayal tore through him. ‘But putting that to one side, I don’t know if I can deal with that knowledge at the moment.’

‘What is it?’

‘Scott.’ Isaac bit out, trying to reign in the anger and betrayal he felt. He wasn’t sure why he felt betrayed. It wasn’t him who Scott had betrayed. But he still felt the sting and pain of it.

‘You said Chris.’ Danny winced when he said the name. ‘Manipulated Scott into kicking Stiles out.’

Isaac nodded. ‘Scott did it because he thought he was doing what Stiles wanted. But they were a pack.’

‘Yeah…’ Danny frowned.

‘And packs have bonds.’ Isaac stated. 

That was why he couldn’t understand what Scott had done. Why he felt the betrayal as strongly as he did. 

If Scott could do that to someone in his own pack, someone he looked on as a brother and claimed as his best friend, someone he had a bond with and was connected to. Then he could do the same to anyone.

Danny blinked, still looking confused. ‘What are pack bonds?’

‘They’re what makes a pack. Every pack member feels them.’ Isaac sighed and corrected himself. ‘Every supernatural pack member feels them.’

‘What do they feel like?’ Danny frowned.

Isaac winced. ‘It’s kinda like what you feel to family members, but tangible. Even if it's a family member you don’t like, you still have that link.’

Danny nodded. ‘That’s how Jackson and Ethan knew Derek had gone feral. They felt it through the bond, their pack bond.’

Isaac nodded. ‘So when Chri-. When stiles left. Why didn’t Scott feel what he was going through?’

Danny’s face cleared as understanding dawned. ‘Why didn’t Scott feel what was happening to Stiles through their pack bond?’ Isaac nodded. ‘You said supernaturals felt the bond. Stiles is human. Or was human.’

‘But Scott isn’t. He would have still felt the bond. Even if Stiles didn’t.’

‘But Scott kicked Stiles out. Maybe he broke the bond then?’

‘Maybe.’ Isaac shrugged but didn’t believe it. Too much didn’t add up and he had a bad feeling he knew what had happened. A very bad feeling. ‘But it’s hard to break the bonds. Impossible if you still care for them. And Scott has always said he considered Stiles pack. Even when he wasn’t here.’

‘So Scott didn’t break the bond?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Isaac stared at Danny miserably as he saw the realisation fall over his ex-boyfriend’s face.

‘So why didn’t he feel what was happening?’

‘I don’t know.’ Isaac grimaced. He had a suspicion and it was almost as bad as if Scott had felt the bond to Stiles and ignored it. Which he didn’t think Scott had done. He was a naive idiot, not a cruel bastard. So his suspicion was more likely. ‘I don’t think Scott feels the bonds, or if he does, knows what they are.’

‘What? Is that possible?’ Danny asked looking astonished. 

He had a point, for an alpha it shouldn’t be possible. It was why Derek had spent so long looking for Erica and Boyd even though everyone knew they had run away. He could feel their pain, their anguish and knew something was wrong.

‘Who would have taught him?’ Isaac asked with a shrug. ‘Derek was a mess back then, and he was never trained to be Alpha. He would have recognised the bonds though, but Scott always refused to listen to anything he had to say. And so much shit kept constantly happening… He doesn’t even scent mark his pack.’

‘Scent mark?’ Danny scrunched up his nose, his scent changing to slightly disgusted.

‘Not what you're thinking.’ Isaac replied dryly. ‘Touching. A hand on the back of the neck, a brush over pulse points. It identifies you to others as pack and helps cement the pack bonds.’

‘You did that to me all the time.’ Danny realised, his voice faint.

Isaac nodded as he struggled to keep his hands to himself. It was killing him not being able to do it again. Danny no longer smelt of him, although there was a faint trace of him there, Jackson and Ethan’s scents were a lot stronger and overriding. But Isaac no longer had the right to any claim on Danny.

‘So, these pack bonds are important and through them, Scott should have felt that Stiles was in trouble?’ Danny asked. Isaac grimaced uncomfortably. ‘And he didn’t?’ Isaac shook his head. ‘Do you have any bonds?’

Isaac nodded. ‘Yeah. To you, to Derek and to, to…’

‘To Chris?’

Isaac nodded feeling miserable. ‘That’s how I’ve known he was alive all these years. I just couldn’t find him, but he’s never been in any pain.’

‘Shit.’ Danny closed his eyes.

‘I felt it break.’ Isaac whispered. ‘Watching that video, hearing what he’d done. Seeing what it did to Derek.’

He saw Danny reach out a hand before hesitating. He quickly grabbed at it and, watching his strength, held on. Only letting out a breath when Danny squeezed back and didn’t try to take his hand away. 

‘What does a bond feel like?’ Danny asked quietly.

‘A connection to home. To family. Let’s you know you're not alone.’ Isaac told him wistfully.

‘What does it breaking feel like?’

Isaac took a breath. ‘Like, like a bone breaking. Then you can feel the echo of where it was. It sits empty in your chest.’

‘Like a missing limb.’ Danny murmured. Isaac nodded. ‘Do you both have to be pack to feel the bond?’

Isaac shook his head. ‘That’s why mine are so weak. Apart from to you. I consider you to be pack. But Derek and I aren’t pack, so it’s muted.’

‘And yours with Chris?’

Isaac winced. ‘Was muted as well.’

‘Was that because he was human, or didn’t consider you to be pack?’

‘I, I don’t know.’ Isaac blinked confused. It shouldn’t have been so muted. Isaac was the one who felt them and he’d considered Chris to be pack.

‘But I’m human.’ Danny said. Isaac nodded. ‘And your bond with me is stronger than your one with Chris?’ Isaac nodded again. ‘Do, do you have a bond with Scott?’

‘No.’

‘Have you ever had one with Scott?’

Isaac nodded miserably. ‘School. It was muted though.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t think either of us knew what it was at the time.’ Isaac shrugged.

‘But you now think that either all of Scott’s bonds are muted or just not there?’

‘Without talking to Scott about it, there’s no way to know for sure.’

‘Are you going to talk to Scott about it?’

‘No.’ Isaac shook his head. ‘I don’t want to stay here without you.’

Danny stilled, his eyes squinting. Isaac could smell the pain that suddenly shot through him. While it hurt, knowing that he had hurt Danny, it gave him hope. ‘Isaac.’

‘I love you Danny. I want to be with you. And only you. For the rest of my life.’ He would beg if he had to.

‘I can’t stay here Isaac.’ Danny sighed.

‘I don't want to either. I want to be with you, wherever you are. I will follow you anywhere Danny.’ Isaac told him.

‘But you want to be a part of Scott’s pack.’ Danny’s voice broke.

Isaac shook his head. That wasn’t true. ‘Not anymore. Not now. I want to be part of a pack, but one that treats a pack like a pack, like family. Scott doesn’t do that. Scott’s isn’t what I want. I want a family. And I have that with you.’

‘What about your job?’ Danny asked weakly.

‘I’ve already written out my notice, I just haven’t handed it in yet. They might want me to work the rest of the year but I haven’t decided. I can easily sub again.’ Isaac shrugged even though he wasn’t sure. He knew his finances wouldn’t last that long unless he got a substitute job soon.

‘Why don’t you just give it up and do photography? You hate teaching and you love your photography.’ Danny said, pulling him around and clasping his other hand.

‘Because photography doesn't pay the bills.’ Isaac frowned allowing Danny to manhandle him. Danny knew this, why was he bringing it up again?

‘How do you know? Have you ever tried it?’

Isaac opened his mouth, then closed it. He felt his shoulders sag as he realised. It had been Chris who had told him not to pursue photography. That it was a dead-end job that wouldn’t get him anywhere, that he was better suited to teaching. That he was a natural at it. But had Chris really had his best interests at heart? Why would Chris have pushed him away from photography and into schools?

‘Okay.’ He heard himself say. He’d found packs through working in schools. He’d sniffed out the werewolf children, but as he’d been a werewolf and a teacher, had never come under any suspicion. He realised that was why Chris had wanted him to teach. But some of the packs he’d kept in touch with and they were fine. What about the ones he hadn’t? He needed to dig out their contact information and find out what Chris had been up to.

Danny’s face lit up. ‘Really?’

  
  
  
  


Scott sighed and he kicked his feet against the cliff top. Not that it could actually be called a cliff, not in Beacon Hills anyway, it was just the tip of a steep hill where part of it had fallen away in a landslide. But it made for a great view of the surrounding area, and more importantly, was where he and Stiles had used to come as kids pretending to be older and wiser than they actually were.

He couldn't understand where he had gone so wrong. And he knew now he was in the wrong. About so many things. Stiles had made a lot of points. Too many points. And Scott found it hard to swallow just how much of a shit friend he had been. But the way how Stiles had just walked away from him at the end, looking at him as if Scott was this cruel dictator? He couldn’t get past that. Had he really been that cruel to Derek? He could understand that he had been harsh, and looking back on it, Derek did have feelings for Stiles and Scott had crushed that, made sure that nothing would ever come of it. But in his defence, he had honestly believed that he was acting in Stiles’ best interests. Stiles had been in love with Lydia since they were in kindergarten. He’d had a ten-year plan in high school to win her over. And he had. Stiles had actually won her over and was dating the love of his life.

Okay, so Scott hadn’t seen that Stiles was bisexual, which looking back on it, that was entirely on him. He could see the signs in hindsight. But would Stiles have honestly wanted to get with Derek? Sure, he supposed the guy was hot, but seriously, how many times had Derek threatened Stiles? Threatened to rip his throat out with his teeth? Thrown him against something? Told him to shut up? Stiles deserved better than that. Stiles deserved someone who would treat him with respect, who would laugh at all of his awful puns and appreciated his nerdisms and love for all things Marvel. Whether that someone was male or female didn’t matter to Scott.

But that wasn’t what had disgusted Stiles so much. Scott frowned. Had Stiles been upset by how he had treated Derek? Did Stiles have feelings for Derek? But Stiles was with Ava. Scott sighed and rubbed at his eyes. It didn’t matter anyway who Stiles was with. He had been right about his dating life being nothing to do with Scott. 

Scott knew he had well and truly fucked up. He checked his phone again, hoping for something from his mom. Instead there was a notification from Liam about the pack needing to talk and a time and a place.

He groaned and slumped back, lying down, staring up at the sky. When had life gotten so complicated?

  
  
  


‘Derek?’ Cora called gently. She’d managed to get closer to him than Jackson had but it still wasn’t looking hopeful. 

Isaac has been right in his guess. Derek was feral and didn’t seem to be recognising his pack, not even his alpha. And being his sister meant they had a closer connection, especially with how close they had become when he had passed the alpha spark to her.

It had taken her by surprise when Derek had killed the invading alpha when visiting her and she’d suddenly found herself a beta in a different pack, one with just Derek as her alpha.

He growled at her, his blue eyes flashing in warning as she tried to take another step forward.

‘Derek? It’s me. Cora.’

He growled again, snapping his teeth at her.

‘Please Derek. Come back to me.’ She wasn’t above begging, not for Derek.

He growled at her again and she slowly backed away. She didn’t want to scare him off and force him to find another den. Nor did she want to flash her own alpha eyes at him and have run out of fear. This wasn’t the right situation where she could roar him into submission or force him to turn back either. He was too far gone for that.

She hiked back to where she’d left Jackson, Ethan, Isaac and Parrish. She knew her pack was waiting to hear from her, all wanting good news. She didn’t feel any pressure from them, only love and hope and reassurance. They all cared for Derek. Her pack was a good one. One they had all worked hard for. While not all of them had been hurt, they knew everyone’s history and how easy it could happen.

The four of them were waiting for her, right where she’d left them, looking hopeful and expectant. She shook her head even though she knew they could feel and smell her resignation and sorrow. Well, except for Parrish but he seemed to easily be able to read her expression or body posture or something. ‘He didn’t recognise me.’

‘Shit. What do we do?’ Jackson was on the verge of panicking and she rubbed her hand around the side of neck feeling him instantly relax.

Parrish closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

Isaac looked personally gutted, as if her failure was his own and he smelt of self-hatred. She wasn’t his alpha so it wasn’t her place to scent mark him, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t comfort him. She ran her hand down his arm as she turned to Jackson. ‘I don’t know. I think we need more information.’

‘What aren’t you saying?’ Ethan asked as Jackson swore beside him.

‘I don’t know if it’s true, but there’s an old tale, it was told by my old pack so the translation might have been wrong.’ She didn’t want it to come to this but felt as if she’d been backed into a corner. Derek gave his all to everyone else, how could she not do the same for him?

‘What is it?’

‘That if a werewolf’s pack can’t bring them back, their mate can.’ Cora said slowly. She knew that Derek hadn’t wanted Stiles to know, but that was when Stiles was with someone else. And now, if it saved Derek, Cora would try anything.

‘Derek has a mate?’ Parrish asked, looking surprised. ‘How soon can you get them here?’

Cora caught Isaac’s eye while Jackson was swearing. He nodded. At least she had someone on her side. Even if he wasn’t pack.

‘Soon.’

  
  
  


‘Mason! Mason! Look!’ Corey exclaimed excitedly staring at his feet.

‘What? What am I looking at? Oh my God! Cor! That's incredible!’ Mason exclaimed, gripping his hand just a little too tightly. But after everything that had happened, Corey couldn’t find it in his heart to say anything.

He was actually moving his toes. Well, one or possibly two and barely but still, it was progress. He’d have to get a doctor in here. Ava was very adamant on keeping the medical profession up to date on his ‘miraculous’ recovery. She’s mentioned something about inflammation distorting the results but he really didn’t understand. He wasn’t a doctor not in the medical profession. But at least that way, while they would still think it was a miracle recovery, there would be a lot of hard work involved and no supernaturals would come sniffing around.

‘What are we going to do Corey?’ Mason asked suddenly going quiet.

Corey stopped his efforts at trying to move his toes. He desperately wanted to get better, to be able to walk around and be, well basically be himself again. But the Sheriff would be getting out of his casts soon, and after that, who knew how long Ava and Stiles would be sticking around for.

Corey couldn’t expect them to stay for however it long it took to ever so slowly heal him so that it looked natural. Which would probably be years. And after what Malia had told them, Corey was surprised that Stiles had even returned instead of insisting that his dad stayed with them until he was fully recovered.

‘I don’t know.’ Corey admitted. ‘I want to be me again. I want to walk again. To be whole again.’

‘Cor.’ Mason sighed, sounding and looking heartbroken. ‘You are you. You are whole. This? This is just a blip. One we will get through. Together.’

Corey suddenly had a lump in his throat and tears yet again threatening to fall. Becoming paralysed seemed to somehow affect his emotions and he was crying at the drop of a hat and at any sign of support. He hated it.

‘So, what do we do?’ Corey asked.

‘I don’t want to leave the pack.’ Mason winced. 

‘Neither do I.’ Corey squeezed Mason’s hand reassuringly. ‘But that doesn’t mean we can’t go and then come back. We’ll always be pack.’

‘Will we?’ Mason looked at him doubtfully.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Stiles.’ Corey winced, but Mason had a point. ‘I know that what Scott did to Stiles was…’

He trailed off and Corey nodded. He knew what Mason was feeling and they were probably thinking along the same lines. ‘Beyond horrendous.’

Mason nodded. ‘You don’t treat friends like that.’

‘And what’s to stop him from doing that to any of us?’ Corey asked quietly.

‘I don’t think he would.’ Mason said, but his voice was hesitant.

‘But I would have bet my life he’d never do that to Stiles either.’

‘Same here.’

Corey frowned, trying to figure out what Mason was saying along with what he wanted them to do. ‘So, we go follow Ava, stay with or rather near her until I’m healed and then come back home? And hope that all this shit with Scott has sorted itself out by then?’

Mason gave him a look and he winced. ‘You really think it’s going to be that easy?’

Corey shook his head. ‘No. Stiles was pack and Scott didn’t protect him. And we all went along with him.’

Mason nodded. ‘The blame isn’t all on Scott. We allowed it to happen. We watched it happen and didn’t do anything. We didn’t even say anything.’

‘You’re right.’ Corey whispered. It was their fault along with Scott’s and Scott wasn’t the only one who had to make this better. They had all played a part, even if it wasn’t consciously, nobody was completely blameless. ‘This is on us as well. We allowed Scott to do whatever he pleased. We’ve enabled Scott to do whatever he pleases. I mean look at how we plan and strategize? We give Scott the information, plant it all in his head, then allow him to think it was all his idea.’

‘Shit.’ Mason closed his eyes and Corey knew he was thinking the same as him. They had allowed Scott to turn into the kind of person who allowed this to happen. The kind of person who didn’t think of the repercussions because he hadn’t actually come up with the plan. ‘We can’t leave without resolving this first.’

Corey nodded. ‘But how do we go about resolving it?’

  
  
  
  


‘Scott, slow down.’ Natalie rubbed her forehead as she tried to make sense of what the hell her new alpha was so upset about. 

She was the one who was pissed off with him and for a damn good reason. He’d refused to allow her to go to the meeting with Ava and Stiles, wouldn’t listen to any of her arguments until she’d been on the verge of leaving the pack she had only just joined. Then to top it off, she hadn’t heard a word from him at all, absolutely nothing. Not even when he’d promised to keep her informed of everything that happened seeing as he wasn’t allowing her to attend her first meeting she should rightfully be attending as pack emissary.

He’d point blank refused to allow her to do her job and for what? Because his mother thought it was for the best? His mother, who wasn’t even pack and only knew the bare basics about the supernatural world, had deemed that she wasn’t worthy to go. Natalie was beyond furious.

Liam had finally come home hours later and hadn’t been able to answer any of her questions. That she could understand. It was Scott’s place to tell her and Liam had been with Scott who had stopped her from coming. She had tried her hardest not to ask Liam what had happened, to not put him in such a difficult position, but seeing how upset and shocked he had been, she’d been unable to.

He’d managed to tell her some garbled nonsense about Scott and Stiles arguing, Stiles having a panic attack and something about a video or interrogation about Stiles’ kidnapper. From nine years ago. She had no idea how that was relevant, so had grabbed hold of Liam and carted him to Scott’s house. Only Scott hadn’t been there and when he finally turned up, seemed to be in a worse condition that Liam had been in.

She watched as Scott took a breath. ‘Stiles was kidnapped and tortured by Chris.’

‘Who’s Chris?’ Natalie held back her sigh as she reigned in her anger. It wouldn’t do for the wolves to scent it and react off of her feelings. Scott kept assuming she knew everyone he mentioned and she had to keep reminding him that she didn’t.

‘Chris Argent, he’s pack, or used to be. He disappeared about eight years ago.’

Natalie blinked at him, a slow sick feeling unfurling in her stomach. She forced herself to keep her voice devoid of any judgement. ‘Chris Argent? As in Argent the hunter family? You let a hunter into the pack?’

‘What? No! I mean Chris wasn’t a hunter. Well he wasn’t meant to be. He’d retired and was revising the code.’ Scott frowned at her, blinking rapidly.

Natalie stared at him wondering just what the hell she had gotten herself into. There was no way that Scott could possibly be this dense. ‘Hunter’s don’t change. Especially the Argents! Everyone knows what Kate Argent did to the Hale pack. She trapped them in their home and burnt them alive. Children and humans included. Hunters, especially Argent’s, do not change Scott.’

What Kate Argent had done to the Hale pack had had severe repercussions, to both supernatural and hunters alike. Entire families had gone into hiding, others had massacred hunter families. And the Argent name had barely survived.

Scott glared at her, surprising her. ‘Chris was different. His daughter,’ Scott swallowed. ‘Allison was one of us.’

Natalie felt her jaw drop. ‘His daughter was a werewolf?!’

‘What? No!’ Scott exclaimed. ‘She was pack though, she died for us. It changed him. He changed his allegiance. He basically adopted Isaac.’

Natalie looked at him completely unimpressed. ‘And yet, he kidnapped Stiles and tortured him. He’s an Argent, Scott. I think he’s proved my point. Argent’s don’t change, and neither do hunters.’

‘What do you know?’ Theo smirked at her.

‘You’re just helping me prove my point Theo.’ Natalie smirked right back at him. ‘Once a slimy bastard, always a slimy bastard.’

‘Are you sure you’re a witch? Because you’re acting more like a bitch.’ Theo snarled.

‘And you need to be put on a leash.’ Natalie squared off, more than up for a fight.

‘Enough. Chris had changed and he helped me out with being a werewolf and an alpha more than anyone except Stiles.’ Scott sighed and ran a face over his hand. ‘When the nogitsune was in Stiles it killed Allison. In the video, Chris said he struggled with that.’

Theo glared at her. ‘Chris was pack. Chris was one of us.’

‘And yet Stiles wasn’t.’ Natalie retaliated.

‘What?’ Scott frowned. ‘Of course he was. I know I wasn’t there for him, but we’re working through that.’

‘Then why did you not know he was being tortured?’

‘Huh?’ Scott stared at her.

‘How was Scott meant to know that? He’s not a mind reader.’ Theo cut in, glaring at her and looking slightly victorious.

Natalie couldn’t help roll her eyes. ‘But he is an alpha, and you all have pack bonds. And through those bonds, you should have felt Stiles’ pain, especially you as the alpha Scott. You should also have realised what Chris was feeling. He couldn’t have hidden his emotions every single time he saw Stiles.’

‘What?’ Scott looked thoroughly lost. ‘Pack bonds? What are you talking about?’

Natalie stared at him. She had made a big mistake. This was worse than she thought.

  
  
  
  


‘Jackson! Ethan! You’re back!’ Ava stared at them in surprise before a grin covered her face. She was pleased they were back, and not only because of the constant funk Stiles had been in since his talk with Scott. ‘And stranger! You wanna come in?’

‘This is a bad idea.’ Jackson grumbled, crossing his arms.

‘Okay, you don’t have to come in.’ Ava frowned at them. She’d hoped that they’d be able to get Stiles back to his normal self but there seemed to be more going on that she wasn’t aware of.

‘Not what he meant.’ The woman said, an amused tone to her voice.

‘Cora?’ Lydia called, coming to the door behind Ava. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Cora?’ Ava asked perking up. This could definitely benefit Stiles. She knew he didn’t believe Scott when he’d said that Derek had had a thing for him, but maybe Cora could make him see the light. It was as clear as day to the rest of them. ‘Derek’s sister Cora? And by the looks of it his alpha too.’

Lydia rolled her eyes. ‘No wonder you didn’t want Scott to know who your alpha was. You coming in or what?’

Ava grinned, raising her eyebrows quickly at the three wolves after Lydia turned around, leaving them at the door. ‘Come on, Stiles is cooking.’ She inclined her head as they came in.

Cora paused as Ava closed the door behind them. ‘How did you know I was the Alpha?’

Ava winked at her. ‘Now that would be telling.’ Cora looked at her suspiciously but Ava just grinned before yelling loudly. ‘Stiles! You got company!’

‘Unless it’s Derek, Isaac or Jordan, tell them to fuck off.’ Stiles shouted back.

‘Oh yeah? Say that to my face.’ Jackson said as they entered the kitchen.

‘Jackson?’ Stiles whipped around, sharp knife in hand but with his eyes wide. ‘Ethan? You’re back! Cora?’

‘Stiles, meet our alpha.’ Ethan grinned.

‘Oh man!’ Stiles grinned, quickly hugging Ethan before giving Jackson one too. Cora also didn’t have a choice as Stiles swept her up but she looked to be giving just as good as she got. Ava also thought she saw Cora taking in a deep breath as she did so. Werewolves, they weren’t half as sneaky as they thought. He glanced at Ava and pointed the knife at her. ‘Out!’

She raised her hands in surrender. ‘I’ll be good I promise!’

‘You touch anything, I’ll cut your fingers off!’ He threatened.

Ava grinned, knowing just how evil she looked. ‘You wanna try?’

‘Don’t tempt me!’ Stiles laughed, turning back around. ‘So what are you guys doing back? And where’s Danny?’

Danny’s gone to see Isaac.’ Cora said grimly. ‘We have a problem.’

Jackson opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it when Cora glared at him. Ava narrowed her eyes suspiciously but quickly cleared her expression before Stiles saw it.

‘I’m not going to like this am I.’ Stiles said with a sigh as he carefully set the knife down and turned to face them.

‘No.’ Jackson grumped. From everything Ava had learnt about this, this was really out of character. What on earth had happened?

‘Alright then, spit it out.’

Cora glared at Stiles. ‘We need your help with Derek.’

‘Derek? Is he okay? What’s wrong? What’s happened?’ Stiles asked instantly alarmed. ‘Cora you can’t just say something like that!’

Cora sighed. ‘He’s turned feral. He’s...’

‘What are you talking about? He can’t have turned feral! We saw him a couple days ago and he was fine! It takes a hell of a lot longer than that to turn feral!’ Stiles ranted at her.

Ava walked over to him, holding an arm out and he gripped onto her tightly.

‘Yes well.’ Cora took a breath in. ‘He has. He’s in full shift and hiding in the preserve.’

‘What? Oh my God, the vampires!’ Stiles turned to Ava halfway to full panic mode before turning back to Cora. ‘What if they find him? We have to figure out what to do! What have you tried?’

Cora raised an eyebrow at him and Stiles winced. ‘He won’t listen to any of us, he just bolts. We know where he is, but we can’t get close and we don’t want him running again.’

‘Okay so what’s the plan? How are we getting him back? Why is he in a full shift? Is he stuck?’

Ava would like to know the answer to those questions as well as when he did turn feral exactly and was it her fault?

Cora winced. ‘That’s… We need you to go speak to him. We think he’ll listen to you.’

‘What? Why me?’ Stiles stared at her blankly. ‘Why would he listen to me? He’s more likely to listen to you, you’re his sister and alpha. Are you hoping he’ll eat me?’

Noah groaned.

Ava smirked and saw Lydia doing the same. They all knew exactly why Cora wanted Stiles to go. It was about time he was told seeing as for some reason, he was being incredibly dense about this. Not that Ava could blame him, he had been through a lot.

‘What?’ Stiles exclaimed. ‘It’s a perfectly legitimate question! They’re literally sending me into the wolf’s den!’

Ava held out her hand to Noah, seeing Lydia had already beaten her to it and Noah was already reaching for his wallet. He slapped two twenties into their outstretched hands.

‘What’s that for?’ Stiles asked blankly.

Ava glared him before turning to Cora. ‘Let me guess. Derek shifted into his full wolf form and ran after watching the video I left them.’ She sighed. ‘Sorry.’

Stiles hunched in on himself. ‘What has that got to anything?’

Cora pursed her lips.

Lydia smacked him around the back of his head before Ava could do something similar and maybe a little more gently. 

‘Oww! What was that for?’ Stiles complained.

‘It means you’re Derek’s mate.’ Lydia drawled in a bored tone.

Ava would have probably made him do a little more work for the information, but to give Lydia her due, Stiles was being blind to all the signs.

‘What?’ Stiles whipped his head around to stare at her. ‘No. But. We’ve barely spoken. We literally didn’t see each other for nine years! I know Scott insinuated Derek was in love with me but Scott’s an idiot! How the hell am I Derek’s mate?’

‘Scott got Derek to send his mate away.’ Lydia began listing off everything they all knew, including Stiles.

Stiles blinked. Ava knew that Isaac had told him that.

‘Derek was the one to initially tell you to go.’ Ava interpreted helpfully before Stiles could think of a way to explain it away.

She knew that Stiles had only recently confronted Scott with that one and could see the gears turning as his brain was most likely throwing bits of information at him, everything that he’d missed or dismissed.

‘Scott told Derek his mate was better off without him.’ Lydia continued.

‘Scott believed you wanted out.’ Ava supplied. Isaac, again, had told Stiles that. But it fit. All the bits of information falling into place to create one big picture. She knew Stiles hadn’t seen it for wanting it to be true.

‘Scott told Derek his mate would come back when it was safe.’ Lydia intoned.

‘Scott never believed you would stay away for that long.’ Ava eyed him.

He stared helplessly back. It all fitted. While a large part of her wondered how had he never seen it before, a smaller part knew why. He’d had all the pieces, all the information to put together and he never had, because he’d desperately wanted it to be true so had thought he was deluding himself.

‘Derek’s mate is younger and he was waiting till his mate was eighteen to tell him but he got with someone else.’ Lydia sighed sounded exasperated.

‘When you were eighteen you left to join the FBI and when you came back you started dating Lydia.’ Ava continued for him, sending him a small smile.

‘Do you need any more of a map or have you stopped being an idiot?’ Lydia asked dryly but there was a smile on her face.

‘Go get your wolf, he’s waiting for you.’ Ava grinned at him. ‘Oh, and wash those herbs off. I doubt Derek will like being unable to smell you, especially being feral.’

Stiles winced and trooped off upstairs looking utterly shellshocked. She knew that feeling, the one of it all making sense and praying it was true. Wanting so desperately for it to be true but convinced that you'd added two to two and come up with ten. It wasn’t easy believing something you’d convinced yourself wasn’t true.

‘Malia, what a pleasant surprise.’

Malia rolled her eyes at the greeting and didn’t bother with one of her own as she spoke into her phone. ‘Peter, where are you?’

‘About a day away, actually two, why? Has something else happened?’ His tone was amused but Malia knew him better now and could hear the underlying tension he was trying to hide. But by knowing him better she knew that outright asking what was wrong was bound to get her led on a merry chase. Especially over the phone. He was better handled face to face and she had just the thing to get him to come to her, especially as it seemed he wasn’t all that far away.

‘I need your help finding Chris Argent.’ She knew he wouldn’t have heard about Stiles. Peter had, if not liked Stiles than at least respected him. Stiles, apart from her and Derek, were the only members of the pack that Peter had ever had time for, even if he’d always pretended that he didn’t. She knew that Peter didn’t like Scott, or have any respect for him. And she had to wonder if maybe Peter wasn’t a better judge of character than the rest of them.

He certainly wasn’t a better person than any of them, but maybe a better judge. His self-preservation instinct only ever seemed to be compromised around her, and she’d been surprised by Stiles recount of events with the Ghost Riders, how Peter had known he’d be burnt to a crisp, for a third time, just to get word to her and had willingly volunteered himself.

It was because of Stiles that she’d started to look at her father differently and learnt how to look under the surface. Past the creepy exterior, which she was now sure was a form of protection and habit from being Talia’s left hand for so long, and to see the man beneath it. The man who would do anything for those he loved. Unfortunately, those he loved were few and far between but she knew she was included in that count.

And she owed Stiles. She may not have been there for him when he needed her, but she sure as hell was there for him now.

‘Now why on earth would I look for an Argent?’ This time his tone was all amusement. She couldn’t hear anything underlying it. None of the worry or urgency she thought she initially had.

‘So that I can kill him.’ 

‘While I thoroughly approve of this blood thirsty plan of yours, I’m afraid it will have to wait until after we’ve figured out how to help Derek.’

‘Derek?’ Malia asked confused. ‘What’s wrong with Derek?’

The last time she’d seen Derek was when that video had been playing. But she didn’t remember much other than Chris on that screen explaining what he’d done to Stiles. She didn’t even remember leaving, or travelling to the hospital. She just remembered hearing Corey and Mason squabbling about whether or not to call Scott. It had been Scott’s name that had brought her out of whatever trance she’d been in.

She hadn’t spoken or seen him since then either.

‘You’re the one in the same town as him. You tell me.’

Malia stared at her phone as he hung up on her. Peter had never hung up on her before. Something was wrong. Peter was worried. And it was about Derek. She slipped her phone back into her pocket and set off for the house Derek was currently living in.

  
  
  
  


_Oh shit!_ Stiles accidentally yelped in his head.

_What?!_ Ava’s response was immediate.

_Feral wolf._

_Derek or someone else?_

_Unclear. But I’m praying it’s Derek. I really want it to be Derek, I really, really want it to be Derek._

_Well it hasn’t ripped your throat out yet so I’m gonna say it’s Derek._

_Your concern is reassuring,_

_Shut up and tell Derek you love him._

_Thanks for the help._ Stiles sighed and looked at the wolf that he could only just see peeking out of what it had clearly designated as its den. ‘Derek?’

The wolf growled at him but his eyes flashed blue.

It was Derek.

‘Derek?’ Stiles called slowly. The growling stopped. ‘You okay there dude?’

Nothing.

‘You wanna come out of there big guy?’

Derek growled again.

Stiles sighed. How the hell was he meant to do this? Stiles may have called Scott the idiot but he had missed all the obvious signs around him. Scott wasn’t alone in his idiocy. 

‘I’ll take that as a no then. You want me to come in?’

The growl was sharper and harsher.

Nope he was staying right there thank you very much. ‘Okay buddy, but you gotta meet me half-way at least.’

Nothing. He was so not cut out for this. A feral wolf? No problem. A feral Derek? He was clueless.

‘Come on Derek. Help me out here.’ He sighed and sat down. Was he really Derek’s mate? From what Cora, Ethan and Jackson had said, they hadn’t managed to get this close without Derek bolting. Which led credence to him actually being Derek’s mate even though he’d half convinced himself it was wishful thinking on his part.

‘Derek would you please come out here?’ Stiles tried, keeping his voice soft and gentle. He grinned and kept himself still when Derek inched forward, poking his nose out of his den before stopping. Stiles desperately wanted to punch the air and do a little, or massive and embarrassing, happy dance. ‘There you are.’

He grinned, feeling so relieved and indescribably happy. He almost chuckled when Derek raised his nose into the air and sniffed. Stiles didn’t have to have spent his teenage years around werewolves to realise that he was smelling his happiness. He’d have to hug Ava when he next saw her for telling him to wash the herbs off. Derek was smelling his scent and he knew it was that that was helping Derek feel safe to approach him.

He shuffled forward a little bit more, pleased when Derek didn’t back off or growl at him. But he did whine. Stiles stilled at the sound. It sounded like Derek was in pain. He didn’t want that.

‘Derek? Are you okay? Are you hurt?’ Stiles couldn’t help his own worry and knew that Derek would be smelling it, so when he whined again, Stiles didn’t know what it meant. ‘Derek can you come out here so I check? Please? I need to make sure that you’re not hurt anywhere. Please?’

Derek snuffled and whined again, but inched a little further out.

‘Hey. Hey big guy, that’s it. Come on, a little further.’ Stiles tried to coax, but wasn’t exactly all that surprised when Derek stopped with only his face out of the foliage.

‘Derek, I need you to come further. Please? I just want to check that you aren’t hurt anywhere.’ Stiles asked unsurprised when Derek just whined and put his face on his paws, looking up at him. It was actually kind of adorable. But at least Derek was responding to him. He just hoped that Derek could understand what he was saying, instead of just picking up on his tone.

He shifted so that he was sat cross legged in front of Derek and patted his lap. Derek was going to kill him when he was back in his right mind. ‘Come on Derek. Please come here.’

Derek shuffled forward until his nose was within arm’s reach.

‘There you are buddy!’ Stiles grinned, stretching out his hand.

Derek sniffed at him cautiously before he whined and quickly licked at his finger.


	19. Chapter 19

  
  
  


‘How was school?’ Danny asked, feeling completely out of place. While technically this was still his home, he couldn’t believe how strange it felt to be back. To be standing in his own home, in front of the man he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with, feeling this awkward and out of place, was just completely surreal.

Isaac stared at him for a long moment, as if he couldn’t quite believe that Danny was there. Which caught him by surprise, surely Isaac had been able to smell him coming with those werewolf senses he had.

‘I-I…’ Isaac shrugged. ‘I handed in my notice.’

‘Wait? Seriously?’ Danny blinked at him. He hadn’t been expecting this. He hadn’t actually expected to find himself back here. He’d known that Isaac had said he was thinking about it, but Danny hadn’t really believed it. Had just thought it was a tactic to get him back.

‘I don’t want to stay here.’ Isaac said quietly. ‘Not without you.’

‘So you're just going to quit your job?’ Danny stared at him. ‘Isaac, you’ve wanted a full-time position for ages!’

Isaac shrugged at him, staring at him, looking lost and sad.

‘What about Scott? The pack?’ Danny exclaimed desperately trying to stay calm but it was hard. After everything, everything he had put up with, Isaac was just going to give it all up, just like that.

‘I want a home, Danny. That’s what I would've gotten from the pack, from Scott.’

‘But why Scott? Why does it have to be his pack?’

‘It doesn’t. But he was the first person to make me feel as if I had a family.’

Danny frowned. ‘But I thought Derek...?’

‘Derek made me feel safe, secure, but that was it. He gave me a home, a way to stop feeling victimised, but he was too hurt to be more than that. To be the family I needed him to be, only I couldn’t see that then. But then Scott stepped in. Befriended me, made me feel as if I wasn't alone, that there was someone who wanted to spend time with me, wanted to talk with me and hear my opinion.’

‘And Derek didn’t?’ Danny asked slowly. Isaac had never told him any of this before, but then Danny had been so anti Scott, he wasn’t sure he would have listened even if Isaac had tried to. Danny knew they had been hiding a lot from him back in school. Had figured out they were doing it to try and keep him safe. He had understood it and at the time appreciated it. His friends had been getting hurt, kidnapped and dying and they’d tried to keep him out of it. Now he realised just how much he hadn’t known.

‘Derek wasn’t really one for talking. Yeah, we’d spend time together, but he was always quiet. It was nice but back then, I didn’t need that. I needed someone my own age, someone to talk shit to and goof around with.’

‘And Scott gave you that?’ Danny virtually whispered.

Isaac grimaced. ‘Yeah. He and Stiles were that to each other and I wanted it. Looking back, I can now see that I took over Stiles’ place in Scott’s life.’

‘And now?’ Danny asked, clearing his throat.

‘Now, I can see Scott without the naivete I had as a sixteen-year-old. And I don’t want to be a part of Scott’s pack. I want you, and I will do whatever it takes to get you back. If that means leaving here, then done. I’ve handed in my notice and will follow you anywhere.’

Danny felt his eyes close and he slowly nodded. He hadn’t realised half of what Isaac had been going though. He’d thought he’d been supporting his boyfriend, now he wasn’t so sure. ‘Okay.’

‘Okay?’ Isaac repeated sounding confused.

He loved Isaac and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. Isaac wanted the same and it looked like Scott was no longer standing in their way. They’d been given a second chance and Danny was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. ‘Okay. We’ll help Stiles and the others out with the vampires, and then leave here. Together. We’ll search for another pack for you. If you want a pack and a family. Then we’ll find you one.’

  
  
  


‘So, were you ever going to tell me that you chose me as your mate?’ Stiles felt the wolf that was lying over him stiffen. Well at least he knew that Derek could understand what he was saying and wasn’t just picking up on the inflections in his voice.

It had taken him hours to convince Derek to get close enough for him to slowly stroke his head. Even longer for him to be able to stroke down Derek’s back and touch his legs. But by the time Derek had relaxed enough to allow Stiles to give him a full body rub, he’d basically been in Stiles’ lap and there was no way that Stiles was letting him back away after that.

‘Oh no you don’t!’ Stiles declared, easily recognising Derek’s fight or flight response kicking in. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Derek would never fight him. Which left flight. He launched himself at Derek just as Derek scrambled to his feet, knocking the wolf down and quickly spun him around and straddled him, keeping him in place. And if he used his magic to aid him, well, that was his little secret. It’s not like anyone could prove it.

‘You’re not going anywhere Derek.’ Stiles panted as he struggled to hold onto a very wriggly and agile wolf. He used his magic to help him in struggles. ‘I’ve got you and I’m not letting you go.’

He had his arms wrapped around Derek’s neck, his face pressed into the furry scruff and his legs clamped around Derek’s body. He grunted as he desperately held on. ‘I’m staying Derek, for however long it takes. I’m with you. I’m with you.’

He froze when he heard a groan and felt the body underneath him move in an utterly unnatural and worrying way. He pulled his head back and blinked when he realised he was wrapped around Derek. A human Derek. Who he had basically octopussed himself around and was still holding onto as tight as he could.

‘Stiles, I’m naked.’ Derek said hoarsely, looking anywhere but at him.

Stiles chuckled. ‘Oh I know. And I also know how natural you find it. All those times you used to strip off for the slightest of reasons? Don’t think I don’t know how little nakedness bothers you. Now we have something to discuss.’

‘What.’ Derek sulked, still avoiding eye contact.

Stiles grinned. ‘And there’s my Sourwolf. Back with the lack of inflections. I do believe that was meant to be a question and not a statement.’

Derek glared at him.

‘Fine, fine. Now about this mates business…’

Derek immediately started to fight, bucking himself up underneath Stiles making Stiles use his magic to keep them both steady.

‘Hey, easy Fido.’

Derek struggled more.

‘Shit. Derek! Derek, stop!’ He needed a new plan; this one wasn’t working. ‘We both know that Scott is an idiot!’

Derek stilled at his shout.

‘Finally.’ Stiles muttered. Then glared at Derek. ‘I can’t believe you listened to Scott!’

‘Huh?’ Derek blinked at him.

‘I mean seriously?! When has a plan of his ever worked without backfiring or someone else other than him or those he deems important taking a hit? Name a single instance where one of his plans hasn’t had a single casualty on our side.’ Stiles glared at him, or at least tried to. He was kind of glaring at Derek’s cheek seeing as he was still holding onto him as tightly as he could.

Derek blinked again but stayed silent, lying pliant underneath him. It was doing all sorts of things to test his self-control.

‘Exactly! And yet you chose to listen to him! Why?’ Stiles demanded, choosing to get his temper riled up instead of others things.

‘I. I don’t know what’s happening here?’ Derek asked, confusion showing in his eyes.

‘Why, on God’s green earth, would you think I would never want you? Never accept you?’ Stiles said, biting the proverbial bullet.

‘You were with Lydia.’ Derek said so quietly Stiles almost didn’t hear him.

Stiles sighed. ‘I was. After years and years of pining I’d actually gotten over her when we got together. And I don’t regret being with her for a second. But do you know who made me realise I was bisexual? You. Not Lydia. I had the biggest crush on you dude.’

‘Don’t call me dude.’ Derek said but it sounded more like an automatic response.

Stiles laughed. A full body laugh. His body rubbing up against Derek’s in a completely innocent way that led to many, many not so innocent thoughts. ‘There’s my Derek.’

  
  
  


‘Stilinski’s been gone for ages.’ Jackson grumbled.

‘Means it's working.’ Cora explained quietly. But it didn’t mean she wasn’t worried. Jackson was right. Stiles had been gone for a long time, and the faint bond she felt with her brother hadn’t changed. 

Rationally, she knew it was to be expected, Derek hadn’t recognised his pack, alpha or sister, it was going to take time and the fact that Stiles hadn’t already come running screaming for his life was a good sign, but she wasn’t feeling very rational or patient.

‘Or that Derek’s eaten him.’ Jackson retorted but nudged Cora with his shoulder.

She smiled sadly in response and nudged him back. ‘Yeah, do you really think Stiles would go quietly?’

‘Stiles would be kicking and screaming.’ Ethan chuckled before sobering suddenly. ‘Which he probably did plenty of when he was kidnapped.’

‘Derek wouldn’t have turned feral if it wasn’t bad.’ Cora whispered, looking off in the direction she’d last seen Stiles go. She didn’t know what Derek had seen or heard on that video, but knew it must be horrific. Derek didn’t overreact. Not even to Stiles.

‘I really want to know what was on that tape but also I really, really don’t.’ Jackson admitted.

‘If it turned Derek feral, made Isaac renounce Chris and Scott get a grip, then no, I don’t think any of us do.’ Ethan murmured.

He had a point. She had been wondering whether or not to ask Lydia. She figured Lydia was her best shot although maybe Ava would. She seemed pretty open and upfront. But there was no way she was asking Stiles. She would not make him relive it and figured there was a reason why neither Stiles, Lydia or Ava were there when the others watched the video.

‘Did you notice Stiles’ smell after he washed the herbs off?’ Cora asked quietly, wondering if they’d picked up on it and what it meant. She only did because of the emissary with her old pack in South America.

‘Yeah, sorta sweet, like burnt sugar?’

Cora nodded. ‘That’s what magic smells like.’

Jackson blinked. ‘But we all knew that Stiles had powers, we saw him kill those three vampires by levitating stakes and sending them straight into the vampires' hearts.’

‘He didn’t smell like that when I last saw him.’ Cora said quietly knowing they would both hear. She knew it had been years since she’d last seen him, a lot longer than it had been for Ethan or Jackson. But she had never known Stiles to smell of magic.

Jackson frowned. ‘No, when we came back to track him, he didn’t then either.’

‘So, he wasn’t magic when he left but he is now?’ Ethan frowned. ‘How?’

‘But getting kidnapped doesn’t give you magical powers.’ Jackson rationalised. 

‘No.’ Cora said slowly in agreement. It didn’t make sense, but then when was anything in Beacon Hills easy? She really hated being back here and had no idea how Derek had managed it. ‘It doesn’t.

‘What? What do you know?’ Ethan asked recognising her tone.

‘I think I need to call Javier.’ Magic didn’t suddenly appear in people. And while nine years may not have been sudden, magic did not appear in people who had none. At all. Ever. It was impossible.

‘The emissary from your pack in South America?’ Jackson frowned.

‘He knows more about magic and how it manifests.’ Cora nodded before doubling over as a sharp hot heat shot through her chest. She breathed out, feeling her eyes water as her bond with Derek settled back into place. ‘Oh thank God.’

She looked over to see Ethan and Jackson wincing on the ground.

  
  
  
  


‘I know a lot more about werewolves now than I did ten years ago.’ Stiles said. He still had a hand on Derek, unwilling to completely let him go even though he knew that Derek wouldn’t bolt now. Well, he was ninety percent sure that he wouldn’t. Maybe eighty-five.

‘What are you getting at?’ Derek grouched.

‘You listened to me.’ Stiles stated trying not to be antagonistic. But this needed to be said, he needed to know. Derek had dressed in the clothes Stiles had magicked up for him and was sat next to him, shoulder to shoulder. ‘Your wolf did. You were feral but you heard me, listened to me, responded to me.’

‘So?’ Derek hunched his shoulders up protectively.

‘Only a wolf's mate can do that, can get through to them like that.’ Stiles stared at Derek but he didn’t say anything, nor would he make eye contact. ‘Derek, it’s been what? Nine years? Nine years since we’ve seen each other? How am I your mate? And how am I still your mate?’

‘I was waiting till you were eighteen to tell you.’ Derek scowled at the ground and Stiles called bullshit on that one.

‘Then why didn’t you?’ Stiles asked exasperated. He was long past eighteen.

‘You were with Lydia. Happy with Lydia. You’d been in love with her for years.’

Stiles sighed. ‘Yeah I was. And if things had been different, if Chris hadn’t… maybe we’d have worked out, but he did and we didn’t. But after, why didn’t you try to find me after?’

‘Thought you were still with her.’ Derek muttered. Stiles eyed him. ‘Jackson kept tabs.’

‘It’s a good thing Jackson’s pretty, but you? You’re prettier but you’re meant to be smarter as well!’ Stiles groaned, jabbing a finger into Derek’s chest. ‘Jackson was shit at keeping tabs. Lydia told him years ago that we’d broken up and I know she did because I was there when she called him.’

‘You think I’m pretty?’ Derek raised an eyebrow, but looked pleased.

‘Of course I do! Have you seen you? You were my big bi revelation, and not just because of your looks, you always thought of others, put them before your needs and wants.’ Stiles added before he accidentally objectified Derek even more. He knew it was something that Derek both hated and feared. It had been something that Derek had confided in him before… well before.

Derek’s ears turned red.

‘If you had told me all this before I got with Lydia, Lydia and I would never have happened. It would’ve been you. Which news flash, I was eighteen before I got with Lydia, had been in the FBI for a year and everything. So why didn’t you tell me when I turned eighteen?’ Stiles demanded, glaring at him for good measure.

‘Erm, I, you were away, enjoying your training!’ Derek sounded and looked like a spooked deer caught in headlights. 

Stiles found it utterly endearing until he thought it through and realised what it meant. ‘Wait. No. Just no. Unless? You were? Oh my god you were! Derek! No! No no no no no no no no!’ Stiles reached forward, grabbing onto him with both hands and pulling him close. He was pleased when Derek came willingly. ‘You never, never should be scared of me, or my response, or anything to do with me. I promise you Derek, I hate that. You can’t be scared of me or to tell me things.’

Derek deflated and slowly leant into his embrace.

Stiles felt him nod. 

He sighed and gently moved his hand, shifting until he was practically pushed up against Derek and wrapped his arms around him. ‘Promise me Derek. I can’t stand the thought of you ever being scared of me or what I might say.’

He heard Derek swallow. ‘I promise.’

Derek’s voice was hoarse.

‘I promise too. I will always talk to you. No secrets Derek. We’ve seen how much damage they do.’ Stiles said quietly, thinking of what had happened to him and how he’d kept it secret. Look how the revelation had affected Derek.

Derek nodded. ‘No secrets.’

‘So. I’m game if you are.’

Derek stilled and slowly, ever so slowly, met Stiles’ gaze. He blinked, looking at him, his face full of disbelief.

Stiles grinned at him belying the anxious feeling in his gut. ‘So, what do you say Sourwolf? Do you want to date me?’

Derek snorted and closed his eyes. But Stiles felt his head nod and the knowledge made his heart feel as if it was swelling. ‘Yeah Stiles. I would.’

‘Good. Also, we had better go find your sister and pack.’ Stiles nudged him.

‘Cora’s here?’ Derek asked frowning. He tilted his head and sniffed at the air.

‘Yeah, alphahood suits her.’ Stiles grinned at him. ‘They couldn’t get too close because you started growling as soon as you scented them and have already bolted a couple times.’

Derek stood up, pulling Stiles to his feet, making sure he was steady. ‘They’re this way.’

‘Hey! Derek!’ Stiles called out aghast as Derek immediately set off. Derek turned back to him, frowning. He glared at him and held out his hand. ‘We’re official now. And official means you holding my hand. Chop chop.’

Stiles grinned when Derek rolled his eyes, grabbed his hand and promptly carted him out the woods to where his sister and pack were waiting.

  
  
  
  


‘Scott?’ Melissa frowned, hesitating in the doorway. She really hoped the figure on her bed was him but who else would be curled up in a foetal position in her bedroom, body shuddering as if they were crying.

The shuddering increased along with a whimper and a sniff but he lifted his head and that was definitely her boy.

‘Mom?’ 

Melissa closed her eyes at the pain in her son's voice. She may be mad at him, but he was still her son and she would always love him. No matter what.

‘How did I not know?’

Melissa shrugged and walked over, sitting on the edge of her bed. She wrapped an arm around him when he leant into her. He’d done a lot of damage but she knew that none of it had been deliberate or malicious. ‘Chris played us all.’

‘But I’m a werewolf, I should have sensed something. Heard his lies.’

She could hear the self-condemnation and pleading in his voice, but now that he was finally, finally taking responsibility for his actions, there was no way that she could absolve him. ‘Yes, you should have.’

‘So why didn’t I?’

She closed her eyes. She had kept herself awake for countless nights asking herself that question. ‘Only you can answer that Scott. But when you figure it out, I know some people who would dearly love to know.’

‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’

‘It’s not me you need to be apologising to.’ She said quietly. She didn’t need to look at his face to know she was crying again.

‘I know. It didn’t go so good.’ Scott admitted, his voice matching hers in loudness.

‘So, you’re just giving up?’ She swallowed. She’d tried to keep all judgement out of her voice but that had only made it flat and emotionless. She knew Scott had noticed when he tensed.

‘No! No. I’m not giving up. I, I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what to do. Mom, I need your help.’ 

He was pleading, but she had seen what his blindness had done to Stiles and she refused to give in to him.

Melissa sighed. She tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling but couldn’t help but tighten her hold on him. She kissed the side of his head. ‘I’m sorry Scott. But you need to figure this out yourself.’

  
  
  


‘Cora.’ Derek whispered as his sister and alpha threw herself into his arms. He let go of Stiles’ hand to wrap both of his arms around her tightly as he lifted her off the ground and buried his nose into her hair and neck, inhaling deeply. 

He couldn’t believe how much he had missed her. Cora clutched back at him and he could smell her desperation and relief so he didn’t let go, not until she relaxed her grip.

When he finally set her down, he was fully expecting the punch on his arm that made him stagger.

‘You arse!’ Cora glared at him. ‘What the hell happened?’

‘I’m pretty sure that’s my fault.’ Stiles frowned. He looked fine but Derek could smell his fear. He was still stood by his side so he grabbed his hand and squeezed in what he hoped was a reassuring way. ‘Or maybe Ava’s.’

‘Ah man.’ Jackson exclaimed loudly and glumly, staring at their hands. Derek smirked. ‘When the hell did that happen?’

‘What?’ Stiles exclaimed, looking and sounding startled. Derek frowned at him, when Stiles’ scent turned worried. He had to admit, it was a relief to be able to smell Stiles again, but he found the burnt sugar smell of magic slightly disconcerting but now wasn’t the time to bring it up. They had plenty of time, well he hoped they had plenty of time. But the relief at being here, holding Stiles’ hand, surrounded by pack was strong. Derek didn’t think he would ever be standing here. 

Ethan grinned and held out his hand while Jackson dug out his wallet and handed his husband a lot of crisp bills.

‘What the hell Jackson?’ Derek asked through the confused smile on his face. He knew his packmate and that Jackson was just putting on a front, plus he could smell that Jackson was actually pleased. It didn’t even seem upset about handing over the money but Derek wasn’t sure what they had bet on.

‘I didn’t think you’d get your shit together this visit.’ Jackson grumbled, but his eyes were smiling.

‘Yeah, bet me two hundred you two wouldn’t get together while you were both here.’ Ethan said smugly, as he stuffed the bills unconcerned into his back pocket.

Derek rolled his eyes. Jackson would bet the moon was green just for something to do and Ethan would readily bet against him every single time. They were the best suited couple Derek had ever met.

‘But you’re married.’ Stiles frowned, smelling of confusion.

‘Yeah so?’ Jackson blinked at him.

‘So, isn’t the money both of yours?’

‘Yeah. And?’

Stiles smiled and shook his head. ‘Nothing.’

Derek felt that way a lot around those two but it didn’t stop him from loving them. 

  
  
  


‘Malia?’ Mason asked hesitantly frowning at his coffee. 

Malia had dragged him out of Corey’s hospital room with wholehearted agreement from Corey to get some fresh air. They were standing on the tiniest patch of grass ever imaginable and Mason couldn’t understand why they kept it, who on earth would bother maintaining it? Malia had brought them both coffees which were awful and neither had bothered drinking any.

‘Yeah?’ She looked over to him.

‘How badly do you think Scott will react if we follow Ava when she leaves?’

Malia frowned. ‘Are you leaving the pack?’

‘No! No, we don’t want to leave the pack. But Corey wants to be able to walk again, to use his legs, be able to use the toilet without help. He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.’ Mason knew he was rambling but he needed Malia to understand and see where they were coming from.

Malia shrugged. ‘Neither would I.’

He took a breath and continued. Malia was outspoken, if she had a problem with what he was saying, she’d have already said it. ‘Ava can heal him. We have to go slow so that we don’t arouse suspicion. I still don’t know what suspicion, but with Beacon Hills being Beacon Hills, whatever it is, it won’t be good.’

Malia nodded slowly and he breathed out a sigh of relief. ‘Would you come back after he was healed?’

Mason nodded quickly, relief flooding through him that she had not only understood but agreed. ‘Yes! Of course we would! We were thinking of telling people we’d heard about an experimental treatment or something and follow her.’

‘Does Ava think that’s best?’

Mason winced. They hadn’t approached Ava yet and didn’t know how she would feel about them following her. In fact, Mason realised that they didn’t even know where she and Stiles lived. ‘We haven’t spoken to her about it. We wanted to speak to the pack, but well, with everything about Stiles coming out.’

‘No ones in a good place.’ Malia sighed.

‘No.’ Mason said quietly, looking down at his feet. ‘And Scott’s still mad that I asked Ava to help Corey in the first place.’

‘Scott can shove it.’ Malia snarled, crushing her coffee cup in her hand and getting it soaked in the process with boiling hot coffee. Mason watched as her hand turned red with the burn then back to pale pink as it healed itself. She sighed. ‘I don’t think it’s that, and now, I don’t think he’ll have much of a problem. I’ll speak to him about it, maybe swing it that this could be a way for him to keep in contact with Stiles.’

‘Really?’ Mason felt the relief wash through him. ‘Thanks Malia.’

  
  
  
  


‘Stiles?’ Ava blinked at him, looking surprised to see him as he walked up to his front door.

‘Yeah?’ He frowned, not understanding why she hadn’t been expecting him and why she looked to have an overnight bag with her. ‘Where are you off to?’

‘Kira’s. Why are you here?’

He stared at her, feeling lost. ‘Because we’re currently staying here with my dad? Remember? What’s wrong with you?’

Ava rolled her eyes and looked at him as if she was a mixture of disappointed and pissed off with him. He stood his ground wondering what the hell he could have done wrong now.

‘Where’s Derek?’ She demanded crossing her arms.

‘At his house with Cora, Ethan and Jackson. Why?’ He knew he sounded defensive but he was feeling defensive and had no idea why she was so upset and annoyed with him.

‘Why aren’t you with him?’

‘Because his packs with him and he needs time with them and I live here.’ He frowned at her again before sighing. ‘I’m missing something aren’t I?’

‘Yes. Go back to Derek.’ Ava forcibly turned him around and pushed him back towards the car. ‘He needs you now. You just brought him back from being feral. You accepted him as your mate. At least I’m assuming that you did?’

He nodded and got in the passenger seat. ‘Of course I did.’

‘So he needs you around. You can’t just leave him.’ She explained, getting into the driver's seat and pulling away. ‘You know how tactile werewolves are. Well normal werewolves. McCall’s the odd one out.’ 

She muttered the last bit but he understood. They had dealings with werewolves in their line of work. And they had all thrived on touch and contact. It had made him rethink all of his research he’d done during high school. He’d learnt that then about wolves, but Scott had never developed that habit and from what he’d seen of Derek back then, it hadn’t seemed to be a thing. But then Derek had been traumatised back then, and in such a way that would stop him from acting like most werewolves. He would have craved touch and contact but had rejected it.

Stiles hated Kate a little bit more at that revelation, because it meant that Derek had been wanting him to stay and Stiles had been oblivious and just left. He’d honestly thought that the pack would want to spend time together, just as a pack and re-establish their bonds. Not even Cora had said anything or even hinted that he should be staying. They hadn’t looked at him any different or seemed worried or disappointed or anything when he said he was heading back home and would give them some time together.

‘Shit.’ He sighed.

‘Yep.’ Ava replied.

They fell into silence again. Ava reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing reassuringly. He entwined their fingers. Barely even two seconds into this mates things with Derek and he’d already fucked up. 

It was only when they were almost at Derek’s that he realised. ‘Wait, who's looking after dad? Was Lydia home?’

‘She’s out with Jordan. Melissa’s there.’ Ava gave him a look.

He slumped back into the seat. ‘Oh, good.’

When Ava drew up outside of Derek’s, Cora was on the phone, pacing up and down. She looked worried but quickly hung up when Ava basically threw him out the car. 

‘Thank God you’re here.’ Cora muttered.

He glared at her. It would have been nice if she’d given him some pointers at least. He was going into this blind. She nodded towards the house and he immediately went inside. If she was that relieved to see him, then Derek couldn’t be in a good way.

He paused but headed through to the lounge, guessing that that was where they were most likely to be. He wasn’t sure how but Jackson somehow managed to both glare at him and look relieved at the same time.

Derek was sitting on one of the couches, his back stiff and straight and his arms at his side. It looked like he was holding onto it for dear life and Stiles wouldn’t be surprised to see his claws digging into the cushions. 

Ignoring the tense atmosphere, he walked straight over to Derek who was staring at him with a blank expression on his face, almost looking wary. The look shot daggers straight into Stiles’ heart. He had caused this; he had caused that look. He had caused Derek pain.

He plonked himself in Derek’s lap, reaching down to Derek’s hands and feeling the claws that had anchored themselves into the couch. He tugged gently at them, surprised and yet not when Derek willingly followed his lead and allowed him to manhandle him around. ‘What are you guys doing just sitting here? The tv isn’t even on. Oh God, don’t tell me you guys actually spend your evenings talking to each other. Now that’s just wrong.’

Stiles did what he did best and chatted the entire time. Jackson grunted and rolled his eyes before leaning further back into his seat as if to say like hell he was getting up. He grabbed Ethan and pulled him down as well, shooting Stiles a glare as if to say he was on his own.

Cora stood in the doorway with a smile on her face before going over to the tv and turning it on. Stiles noticed she kept the remote though.

Derek slowly melted into him, allowing Stiles to push and pull at him until they were both comfy. By the time he was finished, they were somehow lying down on the couch with Stiles wrapped fully around Derek with Derek’s face pressed into his neck. 

It hadn’t been what Stiles was going for but he’d take it. Not only was he wrapped around the guy he’d been fantasising about for most of his life, but Derek had gone boneless in his arms. There was no way Stiles would ever be complaining about this position. 

Although Cora, Jackson and Ethan leaving would make this situation a whole lot better and a whole lot less embarrassing. He desperately needed to think unhappy, unsexy thoughts. Like Finstock in a G-string. His elderly neighbour in a bikini. Borat in his mankini. What was wrong with his mind?

‘So, what are we watching? What’s everyone in the mood for? I really want something with some comedy in. I don’t know about you all but nothing too serious or weepy. Not in the mood for that at all.’

  
  
  


Lydia looked at Jordan’s front door. She didn’t know why she was stalling. Well she did. She hadn’t felt this strongly about anyone in a long time. She wanted to make this work between them but didn’t know how. It was so easy when they were together, everything just seemed to click into place.

But she’d be going soon. A couple weeks. Maybe more, maybe less. She hated Beacon Hills with a passion. She never used to but Scott had destroyed this place for her. She’d always known she’d been leaving but had never thought she’d feel such hatred to her hometown, not even through Jackson being the Kanima or Peter using her or figuring out that she was a banshee. Not even throughout the dead pool or being put in Eichen House.

None of those experiences had made her feel so much hatred towards Beacon Hills and while she’d been glad to leave, she’d always felt a pull bringing her back here. Until Stiles. Until Scott had kicked him out and refused to listen to her. Stiles had been the only reason why she’d kept coming back to Beacon Hills initially. But once her mother had moved, she’d only felt relief at breaking her ties with Beacon Hills.

But now there was Jordan. Jordan still lived here and worked here. He was deputy Sheriff and damn good at his job. She often wondered if the hellhound in him still felt a pull to the nemeton but couldn’t quite find it in her to ask, too afraid of the answer.

She would never ask him to leave but knew she could never move back. So where did that leave them?

  
  
  
  


‘Derek, I want to understand. Why did you believe Scott?’ Stiles asked, trying to sound gentle rather than his usual abruptness. He desperately hoped that he could get through this conversation without getting angry, because he instinctively knew that Derek would think it aimed at him and not Scott.

Cora had not so subtly herded Ethan and Jackson into one of the spare rooms, rather blatantly informing Stiles that the bedrooms had been soundproofed. After Stiles had rather loudly informed them, and he supposed Derek, that they weren’t going be having sex tonight, he boldly followed Derek into his bedroom.

While his heart had leapt at that very important piece of information, he didn’t want his and Derek's first time with Derek's sister and alpha, and two pack members, down the hall. He also wanted it to be special and not after he’d just fucked up. 

While he might have rectified that, he and Derek still had a lot to talk about. And it wasn’t a suitable topic to be brought up after they had sex for the first time. It wouldn’t be an easy conversation and Stiles didn’t want the others overhearing but knew having them close would probably comfort Derek.

‘His heartbeat didn’t lie.’ Derek’s voice was quiet and he avoided Stiles’ eyes and sat on the corner of the bed.

Stiles couldn’t help it, he rolled his eyes. He knew he’d been pretty dense about this whole mates business but Derek really needed to get with the program. He reached out and pulled Derek down so that they were both lying on the bed, facing each other. ‘Well yeah, of course it didn’t. Scott always believes he’s doing the right thing. And he always believes the people he shouldn’t.’

‘Chris?’

Stiles shrugged, or tried to, shrugging wasn’t the easiest lying down. ‘Chris, Theo, Deaton. Who knows who else?’

‘He wasn’t completely wrong though.’ Derek said quietly.

Stiles could actually see Derek retreating into himself. He had to stop himself from immediately snapping at Derek that Scott was completely and utterly wrong, as was Derek for believing him and how could be so stupid? ‘How so?’

Derek shrugged, twiddling his fingers. ‘I ruin every relationship I touch.’

Stiles reached over and grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers and stopping his fidgeting. ‘No, you don’t.’ Stiles spoke slowly, his voice calm and he hoped, reassuring. ‘Others have ruined your relationships, not you. You were manipulated in getting Ennis to bite Paige, Kate used you to get to your family and Jennifer used you to spy on the pack. So, tell me, Derek, what am I going to do?’

Derek’s head whipped up to look at him. He managed to look confused and heartbroken at the same time. ‘I, I… What do you mean?’

‘Those relationships that were “ruined”, weren’t ruined by you. They were ruined by others. So, if you’re using that as a reason, it stands that as we’re now in a relationship, it’s my turn to ruin it. So, what am I going to do? You know everything about me. You tell me, how I could, or would, betray you?’

‘No.’ Derek looked pained. He turned his eyes down to the bed. ‘It’s not… that’s not…’

‘Not what?’ Stiles asked, his voice soft as he gently tilted Derek’s head back to look him in the eyes. ‘Not what Scott meant? Not what you believed?’ Derek frowned at him and opened his mouth before closing it and blinking at him. ‘You deserve happiness Derek. You deserve to be loved. You are important. You are worthwhile.’

Derek closed his eyes. Stiles heard his breath hitch. He leant forward to nudge Derek’s shoulder just in time to hear his mumble. ‘That’s what Cora says.’

Stiles grinned and gently leant into him. ‘I hope you’ve been listening to your alpha then, she sounds like a keeper.’

Derek smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. 

Stiles winced. He didn’t want to say this, to bring this up, but he honestly wasn’t sure he had any other option. ‘Okay then, tell me this. When you were with Paige, who told you, you could only be with her if she was a werewolf too? Then with Kate, why did your mom, a very powerful and well-respected alpha from everything I’ve heard, who’d had multiple dealings with the Argents and hunters, not smell one on you?’

Derek stared at him, looking thoroughly unimpressed. But then he swallowed and Stiles saw it sink in. He didn’t believe for a second that he had been the one to get Derek to realise that. From what he’d said about Cora, Stiles was pretty sure that she had been doing a pretty damn good job of that and he had just reiterated it. Maybe Derek had just needed to hear that Stiles didn’t think that. That he believed in him too. 

‘And Jennifer?’

‘Hey.’ Stiles threw his hands up with a smile on his face. ‘By then the mould was set. You had no hope.’

A reluctant smile formed on Derek’s face. ‘So what am I doing with you then?’

Stiles beamed back at him. Oh yeah, if Derek was joking with him, then he was already well on the way to believing it and had simply needed some confirmation. Confirmation that Stiles would always be happy to give. ‘Breaking the mould of course. When have I ever done things by the book?’

Derek sighed. ‘Thanks.’

‘And Derek?’ Stiles inwardly winced when he immediately looked wary. ‘You need to tell me when you want or need things.’

‘Okay.’ Derek looked confused.

Stiles sighed. He was going to need to spell this out. ‘Like today. You needed me to stay and I didn’t know. I’m so sorry you went through that but I need you to tell me things. I know I’m amazing but I haven’t mastered the ability to mindread.’

He saw Derek relax and allow a little smile. ‘I will. I’ll tell you. How did you know to come back?’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘Ava. I don’t know how she knows so much about werewolves. It’s not like she’s all knowing about everything.’ He sat up suddenly, his eyes wide and he threw his arms out. ‘Oh my God, do you think she was mated to a werewolf once? That would explain so much!’

Derek smiled up at him. ‘It’s possible. She’s been alive for a long time.’

‘Yeah. I’m so gonna ask her. Tomorrow though.’ He grinned and settled himself down closer to Derek, shuffling closer, pleased when Derek entwined their feet together and wrapped an arm around him.

He hummed and snuggled closer. ‘I’m glad you chose me Derek.’

He felt Derek snuffle into his neck and breathe deeply. ‘Me too.’

Stiles smiled as Derek began drawing patterns on his skin with his fingers. 

‘Stiles can I ask you something?’

‘If course. I’ll tell you anything and everything. You need only ask, although shutting me up is supposedly harder to do.’

Derek half smiled and Stiles knew that whatever it was, was important.

‘How did you get your magic?’

‘Ah.’ Stiles winced. ‘That’s a hard one.’

‘You don’t have to tell me.’ Derek quickly said.

‘Derek I want to tell you everything, it’s just not an easy one, to tell or hear okay?’

‘Okay.’ Derek tightened his arms around him.

‘So you know Deaton said I have a spark?’ He felt Derek nod. ‘Well it turns out that when a spark is put under severe and prolonged torture, it starts to react, to protect itself.’

‘And yours did that?’

‘Kinda?’ Stiles screwed his nose up and huffed noisily. He knew the best way to talk about it was to state the facts and not think too deeply about it all. ‘It wasn’t while they had me. It was afterwards. Ava saved me, healed me and found a place for me to stay so I didn’t have to face everyone. Lydia, my dad and Melissa moved in to look after me but she’d pop over every couple days to check up on me. She knew I was a spark, and was just waiting I guess? To see if anything had happened, if it had started reacting. It didn’t at first until after the first month. I’d have nightmares and my spark would do things, just little things initially like locking all the doors. Then setting off alarms. I tried to hide it but one night my dad had come in and it blasted him through the window.’

‘Stiles.’ Derek whispered, pulling him closer.

Stiles realised just how tense he was, he took a deep breath, exhaling loudly as he relaxed his grip on Derek slightly. He closed his eyes and pushed his face into Derek’s neck. He was surprised to find that it worked just as well for him as it seemed to for Derek. Derek’s hands roving around his body were definitely helping as well.

He chuckled sadly and continued. ‘I was so freaked out. Lydia called her and told her what had happened. She healed my dad and told us what was going on. She moved in that night.’

‘She taught you how to use it?’

Stiles nodded. ‘Yeah. It took a lot of work but it kinda helped, having something to concentrate on.’

‘So that’s why you now smell of caramelised sugar?’

‘Caramelised sugar? Dude! I do not smell of caramelised sugar! I smell of roses or sandalwood or ya know something manly. Not caramelised sugar.’ Stiles threw his arm around to emphasise his point, pleased to have something else to concentrate on and inadvertently whacked Derek on his shoulder.

Derek snorted and nosed along his neck. ‘Relax. You still smell of you. Caramelised sugar is the smell of magic. So you also smell of it but it’s mixed in with your natural scent.’

‘Oh.’ Stiles relaxed for a second before he flailed again. ‘Wait! What does my natural scent smell like?’

Derek groaned and pinned him to the bed, sprawling on top of him and burying his head in his neck before huffing loudly. ‘Like home. Can we sleep now? I’m tired. It’s been a long day.’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles smiled and he wound one hand into Derek’s. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep. He’d never really thought this was possible but he knew Derek would be exhausted and didn’t want to be the creeper staying up to watch his boyfriend as he slept. That was Derek’s job, but maybe for tonight he could take over. ‘It really has.’

  
  
  



	20. Chapter 20

  
  


Ava stood staring out the window up at the sky. She’d been procrastinating and she hated it. She knew what was at stake. She needed to get her act together and go out into the preserve. She needed to find this nemeton even though she was certain that it wasn’t actually a nemeton. 

The timelines fit. Which wasn’t exactly hard seeing as no one was sure when the nemeton first appeared. It didn’t seem to be there when the town was founded but Derek was sure that his parents spoke of it as if it had been there awhile. And unfortunately, there wasn’t a historical supernatural account. Everything was passed down by lore or word of mouth. No historical fact checker. At least not for this.

She knew that Stiles would not be happy with her if she went without him. So this morning was probably out as well. Especially as the seer had everything she needed to temporarily take out her powers. Danny had effectively tracked where they were being delivered to, and her and Stiles had quietly scouted the area but they had already been collected. They had been too late.

Ava wondered how much time they had left. Where the vampires were at with their search. If the seer had managed to finish making the null bomb. That is, if her hunch was correct. And her gut feeling didn’t often lead her wrong. But if the seer needed the null bomb, then Ava doubted they had found the nemeton.

‘Good morning.’ 

Ava turned, feeling the automatic smile pull at her lips at the sound of Kira's voice. Kira was padding towards her, looking sleep rumpled but content in an overly large workout top that was threatening to fall off of one shoulder.

‘Morning.’ She leant forward, pressing her lips to Kira’s as she wondered how Kira felt about visiting Louisiana. 

Maybe she would come for a prolonged visit. At least while her and Stiles were based there anyway. It suited them currently, but they weren’t by any means tied to the place. They could go anywhere they wanted. Was she jumping the gun in hoping that Kira might want to get a say in where they went too?

‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Kira asked.

‘Going rates a dollar.’ Ava grinned.

‘Only a dollar? I’m impressed.’ Kira laughed, loosely wrapping her arms around her and leaning back. ‘Surely I get a discount though?’

Ava nodded sagely, resting her hands on Kira’s hips, anchoring her in place. ‘I’m willing to negotiate a bulk buy deal.’

Kira raised an eyebrow. ‘Payment up front or on account?’

‘On account. We can settle terms later.’ Ava sighed, turning serious. She didn’t want to start this relationship with lies or untold truths. ‘I’m worried.’

‘About Stiles?’ Ava shook her head with a small pleased smile on her face that Kira was so concerned about him. ‘About the vampires?’

‘I should have been focusing on them. Been searching for this nemeton.’ She knew she couldn’t and wouldn’t have done anything differently the last couple of days. Stiles had needed her after she had revealed the truth of him leaving all those years ago. While it wasn’t her place to do that, Stiles had agreed to allow her to do so if it became necessary before they had returned. It was something they had discussed at length. He’d known he would never be able to and would rather that it came from her and not him, not feeling as if he could explain it or explain it rationally and without freezing up. 

She didn’t feel good about what she had done but it had needed to be done. And she’d been there for Stiles after. Truth be told she’d expected a higher fallout. For Scott to at least come begging for forgiveness full of excuses sooner than he actually had. She’d been proud of Stiles for not taking any of his shit. It had worried her that he might but he had stood his ground. It was proof that he was healing and moving on from his trauma. He would never be over it, it was not something that anyone could or should get over. But he was dealing and learning to live with it being a part of him, part of his past. He had learnt and was moving on. This trip was proving to be beneficial for him.

And then with Derek turning feral… although that had only taken a day for Stiles to resolve without her but it had delayed her going into the preserve. She hadn’t wanted to intrude by going in search of the nemeton. Or of what she believed the nemeton to be. But with the nogitsune gone, she should be able to find him easily enough. 

‘But you don’t think it is a nemeton?’ Kira asked, slipping her hand into hers and pulling her down onto the window seat.

‘No.’ She knew the signs to look out for and for what she should and shouldn’t sense. She needed to know and she’d left it long enough as it was. If the seer found him first, then she would be the only one to blame when anarchy broke out. Ava knew what the seer wanted, what she was after and what would happen.

The seer would die. No matter what, but Ava didn’t know how many she would take with her. If Ava could stop her from getting to the nemeton, then hopefully no one had to die, but she doubted that. The seer had somehow managed to get vampires to do her bidding. She clearly had no regard for human life. Ava knew the best-case scenario was to apprehend the seer and the remaining vampires and send them to the prison she had helped construct that also held a certain Argent.

‘What do you think it is?’ 

Kira looked so earnest and concerned that Ava couldn’t help but tell her the truth. ‘I think it’s my friend.’

  
  
  
  


‘If I’d known you felt the same way about Derek, I’d have tracked you down years ago.’ Cora grumbled automatically going back to the cupboard and grabbing a second mug as Stiles entered the kitchen. She looked and sounded pissed off but Stiles had gotten on well with her as teenagers and he could tell she wasn’t. She was probably just miffed or annoyed at the situation. She definitely wouldn’t be handing him coffee if she was pissed off with him.

Stiles had woken up in Derek’s arms, in Derek’s bed, which had only thrown him for a second before he remembered yesterday's events. He’d stared at the arm holding him in place for much longer than he would like to admit. It hadn’t really seemed real even though he had the proof basically wrapped around him.

Derek wanted him. Derek had feelings for him. Soft, cute, loving feelings for him. While Stiles had eventually believed that he was Derek’s mate, it was going to take a little longer for the reality of it to actually sink in. 

Derek had been sound asleep, which hadn’t surprised Stiles, what had surprised him was how deeply he was sleeping. Stiles hadn’t wanted to wake him, knowing he needed the rest, but Derek hadn’t stirred when he’d fidgeted in the bed, turning around to stare some more, or gotten out of the bed. Or gone to the bathroom and returned. Or rummaged around, disrupting several items and knocking a book off the side table while he looked for something to use as a note. He didn’t want Derek waking up and thinking he’d just scarpered.

Stiles snorted. ‘You wouldn’t have been able to find me.’

Cora’s eyes narrowed at him. ‘I could have found you.’

‘Oh yeah? You think you’re better than my dad, Lydia, Ethan and Jackson?’ Stiles smiled to take the sting out of his words. ‘And once Ava found me, she hid me.’ He paused frowning. He assumed she knew everything now. That someone had caught her up to speed on what had happened to him. ‘I wasn’t in a good place.’

Cora sighed. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t know.’

Stiles shrugged. ‘Chris knew what he was doing. And it’s in the past. Not something I like talking about.’

Cora shifted and he got the impression she was uncomfortable. ‘It just seems like such a waste. That you both could have been together and it’s taken both of you coming back to this shithole to find each other.’

Stiles chuckled. He couldn’t believe how wrong he’d been back then. How he’d misunderstood so much. ‘Yeah. Derek hid his feelings really well. I was over the moon at how close we’d become. But I honestly thought he only wanted me as a friend.’

‘Would it have changed anything?’ Cora asked quietly, looking intently at him. ‘If you’d known that he was in love with you?’

Stiles paused, feeling a frown cover his face. It was too early for the hard questions, but she deserved answers. As did Derek. They all did. ‘Honestly? I don’t know. I was with Lydia then, and I loved her, I still do. I just hadn’t figured out that it was mostly platonic and not romantic love I felt for her.’

Cora nodded, a sad smile on her face. ‘Thanks for being honest. And for getting him back.’

Stiles snorted and sent her a look. ‘Seriously?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, well, I know how you feel about that now!’

He chuckled and finally sipped at him coffee. He groaned in pleasure. This was one of the best coffee’s he’d ever tasted. It rivalled Ava’s special brew and that said a lot. 

‘Was that why you hid your scent?’ Cora asked as she turned back to the counter and started setting out things to make breakfast.

‘Not completely. I didn’t know Derek was back when I came back. I just didn’t want Scott to be able to smell my emotions and know anything about me. Then when I saw Derek, well, then I was doubly glad I’d hidden my scent.’ Stiles admitted. He’d tried hard not to feel any attraction to Derek and had thought he’d hidden it well. Apparently, he’d hidden it really well, but still not well enough for Ava and Lydia not to notice. He’d never been so thankful for their perceptiveness and he owed their perceptiveness his life, several times over.

‘Eww.’ Cora screwed up her face.

Stiles laughed. ‘Hey! It was in your favour.’

She huffed. ‘Yeah. It really was. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough Stiles.’

Stiles waved away her gratitude. ‘Dude, it’s fine.’

‘No, seriously Stiles.’ Cora said quietly and she came to stand in front him, staring at him intently, her eyes full of sincerity. ‘You’re good for Derek. I never, in my most optimistic moments, thought you would feel the same about him. So thank you. I mean it. And thank you for telling him that he is worthwhile. He doesn’t see it.’

Stiles raised an eyebrow. ‘How did you know I told him he was worthwhile?’

Cora smirked at him. ‘I know my brother. He wouldn’t be so relaxed and at peace if you hadn’t.’

Stiles bit his lip trying not to let his smile spread from one ear to the other. Cora could feel how relaxed and at peace Derek was through their bond just because of their talk. Stiles took a gulp of his coffee as he felt his heart flutter and by Cora’s look knew she had heard it. Christ, if he felt like this just after talking how on earth would he survive sleeping with the man.

He choked as he accidentally inhaled his next sip of coffee but felt as if he deserved the punishment. How could he be so stupid? And how was he only just now realising? They had spent the night sleeping together. They'd been wrapped around each other. Had had a heart to heart that most people would probably never manage to do. 

And Stiles hadn’t even kissed Derek yet. Not once.

What the hell was wrong with him? Stiles had some serious planning to do.

  
  
  


‘I don’t like this; it feels like we’re going behind Scott’s back.’ Liam stated, frowning unhappily.

‘That’s because we are.’ Theo rolled his eyes but the smirk on his face gave away his amusement.

‘Why exactly are we here?’ Natalie demanded, crossing her arms.

‘Look.’ Corey interrupted them. He’d known this was going to be hard and that there would be a divide among them but this was going to be harder than he had expected with Theo seeming to find the whole thing a joke. ‘Scott isn’t the only one who fucked up. We all did. Yes, what he did was worse but...’

‘What are you talking about?’ Theo interrupted, looking bewildered and sounding defensive. ‘We didn’t do anything. If you’re talking about Stiles, everything that happened was all Scott.’

‘Exactly.’ Corey quickly exclaimed. Theo had just made his point for him. ‘We did nothing. We sat back and watched Scott fuck up. We didn’t question it. We didn’t question Scott. Anything that he’s done that we either didn’t like, weren’t sure of or didn’t even understand, not a single one of us stood up and said anything. We allowed Scott to go on thinking he was doing the right thing because none of us bothered saying anything. We’re all at fault.’

‘Oh, for fucks sake.’ Theo sighed, glaring at him annoyed. ‘This is not our fault. Just admit that Scott’s an arse and we no longer want him as alpha. I volunteer myself to take over.’

‘You are not killing Scott.’ Liam snarled, glaring at Theo, his claws elongating. ‘We are not talking about killing our alpha.’

‘We are not replacing Scott as alpha.’ Mason cut in and Corey smiled at him appreciatively. ‘No one is killing anyone.’

‘No.’ Corey said vehemently. ‘We are not. But we do need to change how we all do things.’

‘So why isn’t Scott here?’ Liam questioned throwing him a look. 

Corey sighed, but he knew that Liam was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Liam didn’t want bloodshed or to admit that he was losing faith in Scott. But Corey knew that Liam would listen to them and help them make the pack better. ‘Because we need to think this through, talk about what we see as problems, actual problems and not petty grievances. Then we can go to Scott. Help him see where we’ve all been going wrong, not just him.’

‘Ugh, this is just bullshit. I haven’t done anything wrong and have much better things to do than wait around here and listen to you all whine. I’m out of here.’ Theo headed straight for the door.

Corey wasn’t surprised when everyone just watched him go. No one said anything, didn’t call him back or anything.

‘Why is he pack?’ Natalie asked once he was gone and, Corey assumed, out of hearing range.

Corey sighed but wasn’t surprised when Liam responded.

‘He helped us with the dread doctors.’

‘And this was after he had made Scott think Stiles was a cold-blooded murderer so Scott kicked Stiles out the first time then Theo tried to kill Scott?’ Natalie looked around at them all, her voice and expression clearly showing how utterly unimpressed she was. ‘And you all wanted him to be pack?’

‘Before my time.’ Stacey muttered.

‘I wasn’t pack then.’ Joanna shrugged her shoulders. ‘But I’d have voted no.’

Corey and Mason shared a look. 

‘What?’ Natalie demanded staring at them.

Corey winced. ‘Scott decided, we didn’t get a say.’

‘I’d have agreed.’ Liam scowled.

Mason rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah, because of Hayden.’

Liam grimaced but nodded half-heartedly.

‘Hold up.’ Natalie said loudly, staring around at them all in shock. ‘Are you seriously telling me that Scott doesn’t check with you all on who becomes pack?’

‘Erm, no?’ Liam frowned at her.

Corey shared a glance with Mason. Was that an actual thing? Was Scott meant to be doing that? Did Scott know he was meant to be doing that? This was exactly why he had wanted everyone together to discuss this first.

Natalie stared at something in front of her, looking aghast. ‘So, when I became pack? None of you had a say?’

‘No, but we wanted you.’ Liam was quick to say, pulling his girlfriend into his arms. Corey thought it said a lot about how shocked Natalie was that she allowed it. She hated showing weakness, and would have seen that as showing her new pack a weakness.

‘Yeah.’ Mason instantly backed up his best friend. ‘We do want you and we need a good emissary.’

Natalie smiled grimly at Mason. ‘There’s a difference between want and need.’

‘Doesn’t mean we don’t like you.’ Corey told her. ‘We just didn’t realise we had a say.’

Natalie huffed a breath. ‘I think I need to go over normal pack dynamics and etiquette with you all. Scott included.’

Corey nodded. ‘I think that’s a good plan. It seems there's a lot we don’t know about being a pack.’

‘I’ll call Scott.’ Liam volunteered.

‘Tell him to bring paper. Lots and lots of paper.’ Mason muttered.

‘Sorry I can’t stay. I have a shift in half an hour.’ Stacey stood up and smiled sadly at them all and left. 

Corey stared after her with a frown on his face. There had been something off with her and now that she was leaving, he was only just realising that Stacey had barely said a word, just watched everything cautiously. 

He glanced towards his husband who hadn’t seemed to have noticed. He’d speak to him later about it, when they were alone with no one to overhear or interrupt.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Stiles.’ Noah said, internally wincing when his son's head whipped around and he looked worried. Noah wondered if he had inadvertently used what Stiles termed his “sheriff” voice but he’d been trying to get his son's attention for the last couple minutes.

Noah wasn’t an idiot. He knew that Stiles had spent the night with Derek last night and while Stiles had assured him that everything was fine between them, that Derek was back to being human and they were together. He’d been muttering something about a “perfect place”. It did not surprise him that Stiles had already done something that required forgiveness but he had to assume that Derek knew what he was taking on.

Stiles frowned at him. ‘Are you okay? Do you hurt somewhere?’

Noah knew he was looking at Stiles in exasperation but the boy always worried the worst was about to happen to him. ‘I’m fine, but we need to talk about the future.’

Stiles looked lost. ‘Huh? The future? It’s a bit too late to get me to go back to college. I love my job. And the pay is really good. Like really, really good.’

Noah rolled his eyes but knew he was about to drop a bombshell on his son. One that he was pretty certain would be well received but Stiles had always surprised him. And Noah didn’t know what Stiles’ plans were now that he was embarking on a relationship with Derek. He wasn’t even sure that Stiles knew where Derek lived. ‘I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about how when you and Ava leave here, I’m thinking about following.’

Stiles blinked at him. ‘What? Really? You-you serious?’ He broke out into a huge grin and Noah felt relief spread through him that Stiles was so onboard with this. ‘That’s awesome!’

Noah allowed himself to smile. He hadn’t realised how much this had been weighing down on him. But since his accident, he’d been having a lot of heart to hearts, and one thing had been certain: he no longer wanted to stay living in Beacon Hills. ‘Yeah kiddo. I’m coming with you.’

‘But, but, but.’ Stiles gaped at him helplessly Noah could practically hear the gears turning in his brain. ‘You’re Sheriff? What about your job?’

‘The department knows I’m leaving. I’ve handed in my notice, and put in a recommendation for Jordan to take over as sheriff.’ Noah told him gently. Everything had already been put in motion. All he had to do was get better and sell the house.

‘Are you serious?’ Stiles’ voice was faint.

Noah chuckled. ‘Yeah, kiddo. I’m serious. I’ve had enough of Beacon Hills. I figure my leaving is well overdue. I’ve given enough to this town, but where once I was willing to give my life to keep the town and the people safe. I’m not anymore.’

He’d given his all to this town. And he didn’t begrudge a single moment of it. But he was getting tired. He was constantly passively fighting with Scott to be kept in the loop in all things supernatural and was losing. He no longer had the heart to keep going. And that was why he knew retiring was the best thing. But he wanted to be with family. With Stiles. And that wasn’t in Beacon Hills anymore.

‘Holy shit.’ Stiles stared at him, then launched himself into his arms. Noah laughed as he wrapped his arms around his fully grown son. He only wished he could stand up to do so. ‘You’re actually coming home with me.’

Noah winced and loosened his grip. ‘Well. I don’t know if I’ll be moving in with you. At least not for long.’

‘What do you mean?’ Stiles sat back, staring at him worriedly.

Noah bit his lip to keep from smiling. He hadn’t told Stiles his exact plans. ‘Well, Melissa and I were wanting our own place.’ 

He couldn’t help his laugh as for the first time in his life, it looked like he had rendered his son speechless. Stiles stared at his, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

  
  
  
  
  


Isaac froze as he left the school to see Ava leaning against his car, her eyes closed as she raised her face to the sun. He only had a few morning classes today so it was an early finish but he had no idea how she knew that.

He’d never been alone with her, always having others to buffer them. He didn’t know her, not really, nor had he even tried to get to know her. It was hard enough knowing that she’d saved his life. He’d thanked her, of course he had, but he’d always felt as if getting to know her was a betrayal to Derek. Now that he knew that Stiles wasn’t dating her, that she had saved Stiles from Chris, he didn’t know how to act around her. Hadn’t realised that he’d been hoping that he wouldn’t actually have to be around her.

He slowly approached her, surprised when she didn’t move or even acknowledge his presence.

‘Ava.’ He said stopping a couple feet from her and his car.

‘Isaac.’ She replied in a soft, contented voice not moving or even opening her eyes. ‘I figured we should talk.’

He swallowed nervously. ‘About what?’

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He blinked at how sad she looked and was surprised at the faint scent of sorrow he was smelling from her. Her scent had always been hidden before, just like Stiles’ had. What had changed? Or was it the fact that they now all knew about what had happened to Stiles? That would certainly warrant a hiding of the scent. Or rather of Stiles’ but not hers. ‘About Chris.’

He swallowed again and looked away from her, at the ground. He really didn’t want to talk about Chris. He would much rather the ground open up and swallow him whole.

‘Come on. We can go wherever you want and you can ask me whatever you need to. But I know how you looked on him and I respect that. No matter what he did. You need answers and I will do my best to give them to you.’ She sounded sincere and her heartbeat never faltered.

‘I-’ Isaac took a deep breath. ‘Why?’

‘Why what?’ She tilted her head towards him, her scent changing to curious.

‘Why are you giving me this? Doing this?’ He couldn’t understand where she was coming from. Was this a trick? Was she going to do to him what she had to Chris? Because now that he thought about it, she must have had a hand in what happened to him. Otherwise she wouldn’t have that clip about his interrogation. She knew where he was, maybe had a hand in him disappearing so completely and thoroughly.

She smiled. ‘Because I’m not a total bitch and you helped Derek. He means a lot to Stiles.’

Isaac felt himself deflate at that. She was still telling the truth and the fact that Derek meant a lot to Stiles made him trust her. Stiles meant a lot to Derek as well. He knew that Ava hadn’t meant that Stiles liked Derek in the same way, but the way she had said it made him trust her. ‘Okay. I don’t mind where we go.’

‘Well I know how much you wolves like to eat. Shall we go to the diner?’ She smiled at him. ‘As long as you don't mind me getting Stiles’ curly fries to go.’

He snorted but nodded. The diner was a good choice. It was neutral ground and had witnesses. He wondered if that was why she'd chosen it. He indicated to her to get in and wasn’t surprised that she was quiet and didn’t say a word the entire journey there. She just rested her head back, closed her eyes and seemed to enjoy the feel of the sun on her face.

It was only after they’d ordered that she spoke.

‘He loved you, you know?’

Isaac snorted, knowing bitterly he was coming across and was surprised to find that he didn’t care. ‘Yeah, I used to think that.’

She shrugged. ‘Just because he went about things in a different way and ended up having his own motives, doesn't mean he didn’t love you. Didn’t want what was best for you.’

Isaac glanced down at the table and was quiet while their drinks were delivered.

‘If he loved me.’ He asked once the waitress had once again disappeared. ‘Then why? Why did he do that to Stiles?’

‘Underneath it all, Chris was a hunter. Just because he’d changed sides doesn’t change the fact that it was built into him to hunt. To look for weakness and while he tried hard to change that, he used that to try to eliminate any weakness in you. Only he found out that he really didn’t know enough about werewolves and so it changed into a need to understand you.’ She paused and took a long drag of her milkshake before continuing. ‘Do you know why he didn’t want you to have a pack?’

Isaac frowned and shook his head, playing with his straw but not actually taking a sip.

‘He was worried you wouldn’t take to pack life with your history. He wanted to know how long you could stay pack less without turning omega. Don’t get me wrong, he didn’t want you to turn omega. He looked at you as a son.’ She raised her eyes to look at him. ‘He was so proud that you didn’t need a pack.’

Isaac paled.

‘I had my own suspicions but I didn’t say anything to him about who your pack was.’ 

Isaac took in a shaky breath. She was bombarding him with information. Chris had deliberately experimented on him. She had spoken to him. Discussed him with him. She knew about his history. Which meant she knew about his dad. About the years of abuse he had suffered through. And Chris had apparently used that knowledge to his own gain.

Ava continued. ‘He said you had a special knack for photography.’

‘He-he did?’ Isaac asked hoarsely. He’d known that Chris had liked his photo’s, he’d always praised him for them, but he’d been the one to stop it from being his career.

Ava nodded and took another sip of her drink. ‘He was worried you would realise how good you were and give up teaching to make a go out of it.’

‘What?’ Isaac frowned at her.

Ava stared at him intently but her words were soft and gentle. ‘You were a sub. You travelled to teach. Teachers were safe. More specifically, werewolf teachers were safe and could sniff out werewolf children. And werewolf children mean a pack.’

‘Oh god.’ Isaac felt as if he was about to throw up.

‘He didn’t do it maliciously. He thought he was helping you.’

‘Helping me?’ He asked faintly. He really hadn’t known Chris.

She nodded. ‘He thought being close to these other packs would imitate how a pack felt. That that was what was stopping you from turning feral. Of course the knowledge of where these others packs were didn’t hurt, but he didn’t do anything with that knowledge. Just recorded it.’

‘They, are they safe?’ Isaac whispered, biting down on the fear that curled up from his belly at the thought that Chris had used him to hurt others. 

Ava nodded. Her face was serene. Isaac had no idea how he couldn’t scent any pity or judgement coming from her but he couldn’t. ‘He never told anyone about those packs. His research was very informative. Wrong but informative on his train of thought. Those packs are safe. We made sure.’

Isaac nodded. Her heartbeat was steady. 

‘Thank you.’ His voice was rough and dry and he quickly took a gulp of his lemonade, not even tasting it but needing something to wet his throat.

‘I promise you Isaac. He was just gathering data. He said he didn’t feel pack life was right for you, not after your father. He worried with how your relationship with Allison had progressed, that you might have suffered from Stockholm syndrome. He thought he was protecting you.’ Ava held his eye contact. She wasn’t specifically talking about the abuse he’d received from his father but she was letting him know that she knew. But he didn’t feel as if she was holding it against him. She stating it as a matter of fact. Not a bargaining chip.

‘Protecting me?’ Isaac asked dumbfounded. ‘How the hell was that protecting me?’

Ava smiled sadly. ‘He never had any faith in Scott. You do realise that don’t you?’

Isaac stared at her. He couldn’t believe that. Sure Chris hadn’t wanted Scott dating his daughter, but they’d been young then and Chris had still been a hunter. ‘But when Scott called for help?’

‘He went out of duty to you. He just couldn’t handle being around Stiles. Saw a way to kill two birds with one stone so to say. He didn’t ever want you to re-join Scott or his pack.’

Isaac stared at his drink, the bubbles slowly fizzing to the top. ‘Why?’

‘Because, like I said, he loved you. Just in his own way.’

Isaac nodded, but something she’d said was bugging him. ‘You said he ended up with ulterior motives. He didn’t have them before?’

‘No.’ Ava smiled sadly. ‘Everything he did with you, was because he thought it was in your best interests. He just found out along the way that he really didn’t know much about werewolves and, I suppose, used you as a guinea pig to find out. Isaac.’

He refused to look at her, he wanted to trust her, to believe her. And her heart said she wasn’t lying.

‘Isaac, look at me.’

He slowly raised his eyes to hers.

‘What he did to Stiles, had nothing to do with you. I promise.’

Isaac struggled to swallow and had to blink rapidly as his eyes filled with tears. He had no idea how she’d known that he thought what Chris had done to Stiles was his fault. But having her voice it didn’t make the guilt go away, but it did make it easier to breathe. It made the fear easier to bear, made facing Stiles again that little bit easier.

He wanted to thank her but couldn’t use his voice yet. He settled for nodding, staring in silence at the table as he rapidly and desperately blinked away tears.

‘Food’s coming.’ She said, her voice almost a whisper. He knew it was so that he could pull himself together and not be startled when the plates were clattered down onto the table.

No wonder Stiles loved her. Even if their relationship was platonic.

  
  
  
  


Derek frowned at his phone. He’d thought Stiles was heading back after checking in with his dad, or that he would end up going over to the Stilinski residence. He hadn’t been expecting Stiles to want to meet him someplace else.

‘What’s wrong?’ Cora asked, instantly picking up on his confusion.

‘I need to go. Stiles has just text me coordinates to meet him at.’ He opened up the map app on his phone to find out where those coordinates led to. Stiles never did things the easy way, but why he couldn’t have just given him a name of a place or road to meet him at, Derek didn’t know. He wasn’t entirely sure how to take this.

‘I thought he was coming back here?’ Cora asked, staring at him intently. 

He could smell her worry instantly and it warmed him that she had taken to Stiles again so instantly. Not that he’d expected anything less, his sister was amazing and more supportive that he deserved.

Derek froze when the coordinates started loading. ‘Same, but he’s in the preserve.’

‘The vampires?’ Her worry turned to fear and he could hear the underlying fierce alpha in her tone.

‘He says to come alone.’ This sounded like a trap and dread encompassed it but there was no way that he wasn’t going. It was Stiles. He’d only just got him back.

‘No way are you going into the preserve alone.’ Cora told him adamantly. 

He’d never doubted that she didn’t have his back or that she would ask him not to go. She knew exactly how important Stiles was to him. Everyone in the pack did. And by now, Derek realised ruefully, all of Scott’s pack probably knew as well. But how did the vampires? Was there a leak or a mole in Scott’s pack? The timing was too coincidental.

Derek frowned again when the coordinates pinpointed the exact location on the map. ‘It’s near the old house. Not too far from the road.’

He heard Cora’s phone ping but ignored it as he grabbed his leather jacket, already half out the door.

‘I’ll grab the rest of the pack and catch up.’ Cora called out as she held back.

Derek frowned only barely registering that her worry was gone and replaced with amusement. He didn’t really have the time to figure out her mood change though. Stiles wanted him in the preserve and Cora was right, the preserve was not a safe place to be with the vampires hanging around, even if it was daylight and the middle of the day. Anyone could have set a trap and he knew better than most never to trust Scott McCall or his pack.

He grunted out an acknowledgement as he jumped into his car and stamped down on the accelerator.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Deaton.’ Scott snarled down the phone as he heard him answer. ‘What did you do?’

He heard Deaton sigh. ‘You know.’

‘That a true alpha is a myth. That you made me into one.’ Scott could barely hold down his anger and knew it was coming through in his voice but couldn’t find it in him to care. For so long he’d thought he was this special thing, that it didn’t make him a monster because he was destined. That it was his strong willpower and morals that had made him so.

‘Ava told you.’

Scott stopped, feeling a sudden lump in his throat that couldn’t be swallowed away. He hadn’t realised that he was desperately wanting Deaton to deny it. That Ava had lied about just one thing and wasn’t as good as everyone believed. But she was. Scott was the one in wrong. Again. ‘So it’s true.’

‘Yes. I’m afraid it is true. I am sorry Scott.’

‘Why?’ Scott heard his voice crack. ‘Why did you do it?’

‘Honestly?’ Deaton paused for so long Scott was about to demand he continue. ‘I didn’t feel as if Derek was going to make it as an alpha. He was carrying around too much anger and all the reports I heard were unconvincing to say the least.’

‘So you did this to me because you had no faith in  _ Derek _ ?’ Scott asked astounded. He couldn’t believe his life had been altered so much because of convenience. 

‘And I shouldn’t have.’ Deaton sighed. ‘I’ve treated Derek abysmally and have a lot of grovelling to do.’

Scott blinked. Deaton has treated Derek abysmally? Just by choosing someone else to be alpha over him? Scott would have done the same thing. Derek had proved how hopeless he was at being an alpha.

But then Stiles’ words echoed in his mind.  _ You’ve been a shit alpha. _ Scott was hoping for a second chance and yet he’d never given Derek one. He would hate to be in Derek's place. To be treated like that. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what Derek must be feeling. 

He froze. 

What Derek must be feeling.

Derek had never been intended to be an alpha. Had been manipulated by Kate into giving up all his family's secrets and they were burned alive. His sister had been murdered by his uncle. His family’s emissary had made another alpha because he had no faith in him. Scott had made him bite Kate’s father to turn him. Kate had returned to torment him. He’d given up his alpha spark to save his sister. Scott had forced him to push the man he loved out of the pack.

He now understood what Stiles had been saying. What he’d done to Derek.

He hung up the phone without saying anything else.

Stiles had been right as always and he really was an idiot. Why had no one told him? 

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Stiles asked if he would have listened? If someone already had? 

  
  
  


‘How did your talk with Isaac go? You holding up okay?’ Jackson asked as he opened the front door to Derek’s house.

Danny wasn’t surprised. Jackson not only would have been able to smell him but had known it was him coming. He’d also text him telling him to get his arse over and that Cora and Derek were out. He huffed a deep breath and shrugged. He stepped in as Jackson stepped back, and closed the door behind him. 

‘This is so…’ He trailed off. ‘Everything is such a mess.’

Jackson snorted. ‘Tell me about it. But at least you didn’t lose two hundred bucks.’

‘What?’ Danny frowned at him not knowing what he was talking about.

‘Nothing. What happened with Isaac?’

‘He wants to get back together and he wants to leave Beacon Hills. He says he’s finally finished with Scott.’

Jackson paused a second. ‘Do you believe him?’

Danny stared at him. Trust his friend to get straight to the heart of it. That was the crux of the matter and it decided everything for Danny. His answer to this was his answer to Isaac, it answered what would happen with them from now on. If he believed him or not. Yes or no. ‘Yeah.’ He whispered. ‘Yeah I think I do.’

‘Do you think he’ll actually leave?’ Ethan asked, coming to stand by Jackson, giving them both his support.

‘He’s already handed in his notice to the school. Said he’ll go back to subbing.’ Danny shrugged, feeling helpless. For so long he’d know everything about Isaac, and now he didn’t.

Jackson frowned. ‘I thought you said he did photography?’

Danny nodded. ‘Yeah he does, in the holidays. I’ve told him to give up teaching and try photography full time. I’ve been trying to get him to do it for years but he kept refusing. He finally agreed to this time.’

Jackson stared at him. ‘Why aren't you happy about that?’

‘The look on his face when he agreed.’ Danny shook his head. He didn’t understand it, Isaac was getting everything, so why had he not seemed happy? Unless he was still upset about Scott? ‘There was something going on. He looked heartbroken. But he hates subbing, so why would he be upset at not having to do it?’

‘Is he concerned about the money?’

Danny shrugged and threw himself down onto the sofa. ‘Subbing is shit money and I get more a month that he gets in a year. His photography could bomb and we’d be fine.’

‘Is it really that shit?’ Jackson looked at him dubiously.

Danny shook his head. ‘No. He’s always made a decent wage from it. It’s always seen him through subbing. I can’t understand why he wouldn’t ever consider it before.’

‘But he’s considering it now?’ Ethan asked as he headed out the room to the kitchen.

‘Yeah, he said he would.’

‘So what’s changed? Oh.’ Ethan returned bringing fresh coffee and cups with him. He blinked a couple times.

‘What? What is it?’

Ethan winced. ‘What was Chris’s feelings on Isaac's job?’

‘Oh God.’ Danny closed his eyes and raked a hand down his face. ‘How did I not see it?’

‘See what?’ Jackson asked, pouring them all out coffee as Ethan sat next to him.

Danny grabbed his cup and stared morosely into it. ‘Chris was the one to get Isaac into teaching. Said he’d be good at it and that his photography was a side business only.’

‘What an arse! You heard him say that?’ Jackson sounded and looked furious.

Danny shook his head. ‘No. Isaac told me. When I asked why he didn’t push his photography further. It was years ago. Chris was already gone when Isaac and I got together.’

‘Dodged a bullet there.’ Jackson grumbled, allowing Ethan to rub a hand over the back of his neck. 

Danny watched as Jackson practically melted into the touch. He’d done it accidentally a few times to Isaac and had gotten that exact same reaction each time. He now realised it was a werewolf thing.

‘Was Chris the reason Isaac wanted to join Scott’s pack?’

Danny shook his head. ‘No. He said I was. He wanted to settle down somewhere with me. Wanted a pack, stability, family and Scott had been his first for all of those after his mom and brother died.’

‘Shit.’ Ethan muttered. Even Jackson looked gutted.

‘He’s really shook up. I don’t know what to do but I can’t leave him.’ Danny admitted. the thought of doing so left a cold nauseous feeling deep in his gut.

‘Does he want to stay?’ Jackson asked, sounding and looking alarmed.

‘No. He wants to leave. Said he’ll follow me anywhere.’ Danny heard the waver in his voice. He loved Isaac and would do anything for him. But he hadn’t realised that Isaac would do the same for him, he’d honestly begun to believe that he wouldn’t. That he was in this relationship more than Isaac was. But now he was realising how blind he’d been to Isaac’s needs as a werewolf. Isaac needed and wanted a pack and Danny would make sure that Isaac got one. And while Danny was grateful that Scott was out of the picture, he still felt guilty about it.

Jackson sighed as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. ‘If he’s serious about leaving. About wanting nothing to do with Scott. I’ll speak to Cora when she’s back about allowing him to stay with us until he’s figured out what he wants to do.’

‘Really?’ Danny looked at his friend hopefully. That would answer so many problems and help them both out. Danny was under no illusions that Jackson was only doing this for him. ‘Thanks Jackson. I’ll ask him.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Stiles?’ Derek called out. He’d followed Stiles scent in easily enough, but Stiles had smelt of anticipation and excitement. What on earth was he doing out in the preserve that he was so excited about? He could hear Stiles’ heartbeat and make him out only a little way ahead of him.

‘You’re on private property.’ Stiles called back to him. He sounded stern but Derek could smell the amusement rolling off him.

Derek stopped as he frowned up at him. ‘Yeah? I know. This is Hale property…’ He trailed off as it finally clicked. He knew where they were. He recognised this spot. This exact spot. How the hell did Stiles?

‘And we met here. On this very spot. For the first time.’ Stiles said, his voice soft, all sternness gone.

Derek looked around as he nodded, hearing Stiles walk closer to him. ‘We did.’

‘And you know what I realised?’ Stiles asked. Derek cocked his head. ‘That this would make a perfect place.’

‘A perfect place for what?’ Derek frowned as Stiles approached and slipped his hand into his. He automatically curled his fingers around Stiles’ hand, still surprised at how natural it felt and how seamlessly they seemed to fit together.

‘For our first kiss.’

Derek stilled, his eyes seeking out Stiles’. He opened his mouth but closed it again. He didn’t know what to say. They hadn’t kissed yet, but he’d assumed it was by some design of Stiles’ that he didn’t understand. That maybe Stiles wasn’t ready. He was beginning to understand now. And he certainly had not pegged Stiles as a romantic. ‘I would not have put you down as a romantic at heart.’

Stiles grinned at him and Derek felt his heart flutter. ‘Only when it’s important.’

Derek froze but Stiles must have seen something on his face. He stepped closer, invading Derek’s personal space and cupped his cheek with his hand. It was surprisingly smooth. ‘You are important Derek.’

‘So are you.’ Derek replied, keeping eye contact with Stiles and seeing the exact moment the words hit home.

Stiles smiled. Derek couldn’t believe the overwhelming pleasure he felt at knowing that he had put that smile on Stiles’ face. That he had made Stiles’ scent happy and content, had given him that spike of arousal.

Stiles knocked his forehead against Derek. Derek closed his eyes and felt Stiles take a deep breath. ‘I can’t believe how arse backwards we’ve done everything. Christ Derek, we’ve spent the night with each other and haven’t even kissed.’

‘We take things at our own pace.’ Derek grinned at Stiles sharp bark of laughter but felt his mouth go dry when Stiles’ head was tipped back to enable that laugh but providing Derek with an up close and personal view of his bare throat. Reigning himself in, he settled for wrapping his arms around Stiles instead.

Stiles lowered his head, grinning as he caught Derek’s eye. ‘Hey Derek?’

‘Yes Stiles?’ Derek raised an eyebrow.

Stiles leaned in, pushing his chest and Derek’s, his mouth inches from his own. ‘I think I'm in love with you.’

Derek closed his eyes, his breath catching at the words and seconds later, felt the soft press of Stiles’ lips against his own. He groaned into the kiss, feeling the tension in his shoulders disappear as Stiles licked at the crease between his lips.

He willingly opened up, sucking Stiles’ tongue into his mouth as he gave into his feeling and pulled Stiles closer to him. He felt Stiles’ hands on his back, one slipping down to his lower back, resting in the crook there until Stiles applied pressure, encouraging him closer.

Derek slipped a knee in between Stiles’ legs as one of his hands migrated up the back of Stiles’ neck and tangled in his hair. He was so thankful that Stiles had grown out his buzz cut, even though he’d been cursing him for it when he’d first seen him.

He’d never thought that Stiles would ever feel the same way about him as he did for Stiles. And then when Stiles had told him he did, that he, Derek, had been the cause of Stiles realising his own sexuality and had feelings for him as well, Derek had thought he’d been given a second chance. A chance to prove himself to Stiles, to convince Stiles that he could love him. He’d never expected Stiles to already have such strong feelings. To possibly already be in love with him. 

But Stiles’ heart had been steady when he’d whispered the words. 

He hadn’t lied.

And Derek’s willpower to take this slowly fell with the last remaining walls of his defences.

Stiles gasped as he broke the contact between them and Derek had to take several deep breaths as well. How the hell had a kiss made him so breathless?

‘Jesus Christ Derek.’ Stiles rasped, his eyes round as he stared at him. ‘If you’d kissed me like ten years ago, Lydia would never have stood a chance.’

Derek chuckled. It no longer hurt to think back to the past, all that had been and the mental state he’d been in. ‘Ten years ago, we’d both have fucked this up.’

‘True.’ Stiles sighed, inclining his head slightly before a mischievous look entered his eyes. ‘Now come here again. My knees are weak and I need you to kiss me better.’

Derek couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped or the grin that spread across his face but he willingly hauled Stiles back into his arms.


	21. Chapter 21

  
  
  


Cora sighed as she entered the Stilinski living room. ‘I’ve just got off the phone with Peter.’

‘Oh?’ Derek asked, looking over at her. Peter was still his usual smug arseholish self. But he was loyal now. He no longer had any lingering thirst for becoming an alpha and had settled into being Cora’s left hand. ‘Where is he now?

‘On his way here. He felt the bond change when you went feral.’ Derek winced at her choice of words but she continued. ‘He knows your back but he also had an interesting call from Malia and heard several things about Beacon Hills from his contacts.’

‘What do you mean? Peter and Malia talk once a week.’ Derek frowned. It had taken a while for their relationship to become what it was and he didn’t know what had changed Malia’s mind for her to allow their relationship to grow when she had shown no interest in high school. He doubted it had been Scott’s influence, even after Derek had left, Scott had kept Peter at arm’s length and refused to allow him to become pack.

‘She’s asked for his help tracking down Chris Argent and killing him.’

Derek froze. Chris Argent. He hadn’t even thought about Chris Argent in this. About what had happened to him. He’d been so preoccupied with Stiles and what he had gone through, the pain and fear he would have been in, that he had allowed it to happen, that he hadn’t been there for Stiles when he’d needed him, that he hadn’t even considered revenge.

He knew Chris Argent had disappeared. Isaac had been searching for him for years. He’d been grateful that Isaac had known better than to ask him to help look. In fact, Chris Argent had gone missing around the same time that Stiles had somehow gotten away from him...

Lydia snorted. ‘Good luck with that.’

Derek blinked. Did that mean what he thought it meant? Had Stiles killed him? Thank god. Even though the man deserved so much more. Death was too easy for him. Derek wanted him to hurt for what he had done. 

Cora turned to her, frowning. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Ava took care of Chris. He’s been dealt with.’ Stiles answered, but his voice was off, dull, emotionless. 

Derek didn’t like it.He reached over and squeezed his hand. Stiles offered him a half hearted smile but lent into his side. He couldn’t identify the scent that Stiles was emitting, it was similar to hurt but had something like resignation mixed in with it. Derek wrapped an arm around him, a warm feeling spreading through his chest at the sign of trust. It still didn’t feel real, that Stiles was here with him, wanted to be with him. But he would savour every second, he knew it would only be a matter of time before something happened to rip it all away from him. That was how life worked. For him anyway. And any comfort he could give to Stiles in that time, he was going to do best to give.

Cora went to open her mouth but Noah spoke up. ‘He’s in his own personal hell. Completely deserved if you ask me.’

Derek nodded. He accepted that. Noah’s voice was definitive and his scent had spiked with anger and rage. This wasn’t the time to push and find out. He turned to Cora, changing the subject. ‘What have Peter’s contacts said?’

Cora turned to him, accepting the change. ‘Apparently Nymphs and Dryads have been fleeing the forest. A witch managed to convince one she knew to talk.’ 

‘And?’ Derek pushed. It wasn’t like Cora to hold back information, unless it was information that she didn’t understand.

Cora pursed her lips. ‘Peter said and I quote. “Something is changing in the preserve and once it happens, it cannot be undone”.’

‘Which creature told this to the witch?’ Ava asked, not looking concerned or alarmed in the slightest, just intrigued and curious.

The fact that that made sense to Ava did not surprise Derek. He didn’t even know what she was, but it was apparent that she was powerful. And not just because of her displays of power or how she had made Chris disappear so effectively that no one had been able to find him, but that the highly trained and ruthless hunter hadn’t managed to escape in the eight years that she’d had him.

Cora grimaced, her scent changing to embarrassed. ‘He said it was a llama.’

‘A Lauma?’ Ava asked in surprise.

Derek looked to Stiles not having a clue what either of them were talking about but Stiles’ eyes were trained on them with a little frown creasing his forehead.

‘Yeah. I think that’s what he said. What is it?’ Cora asked, surprise colouring her voice.

‘A Lauma is a woodland fae. Very peaceful, not a fighter unfortunately.’

‘Unfortunately?’ Derek asked, wasn’t it good for them that they were peaceful? Especially as his uncle, or this witch had convinced one to talk, giving them new information.

Ava shrugged. ‘If they were apt at fighting do you really think there would be so much deforestation happening around the world?’

‘Oh. That would actually make sense.’ Cora admitted, giving him a look. He shrugged and nodded.

‘I thought Lauma were vicious and of Baltic origin?’ Lydia frowned.

‘Of Baltic origin yes. The viciousness is just rumour.’ Ava explained, sounding unconcerned.

‘But why are they leaving the preserve?’ Derek asked slowly. If they only moved areas because of deforestation but there was none happening in Beacon Hills, then why were they leaving?

‘They sense upheaval.’ Ava answered easily but he could that she was thinking. ‘Something is about to change in the preserve. And unless someone has a contract to cut it down, then my bet would be the vampires are close to finding the nemeton.’

‘And the lauma are sensing it?’ Stiles asked, looking at Ava. Derek could smell his worry.

Ava nodded. There was a slight frown to her face and even she smelt concerned and unhappy. ‘They can feel approaching change.’

‘We’re going to lose?’ Cora asked, sharing a worried glance with Derek. Dread filled him. Surely they should be doing something then? Like running or gaining allies to help them fight?

Ava shrugged. ‘Not necessarily.’

‘Would the lauma leave if they sense a battle approaching?’ Derek asked, trying to figure out what she meant. It was like dealing with Deaton again. And that was something that he never wanted to experience again.

Ava hummed, looking thoughtful but her scent changed to excited and relieved. ‘Not necessarily. If the outcome of the battle was not in their favour then they would leave.’

‘So the vampires and seer win.’ Lydia stated, just as perplexed as the rest of them.

‘Not necessarily.’ Ava repeated slowly, her eyes glazing over as she stared.

‘Stop with the cryptic.’ Lydia demanded, glaring at her. 

Derek was glad that she had the balls to say that to Ava because he certainly didn’t and Cora wasn’t willing to call Ava out either. Not without knowing what she was when she was as powerful as she was.

‘We may win, but the nemeton may not remain. That would not be in the lauma’s favour. Not when they are so used to its presence.’ Ava finally explained with a grin.

‘Oh.’ Stiles grinned back at her, his scent suddenly happy as well.

Derek stared at him, waiting for them to share with the rest of them.

‘Because of what Ava thinks the nemeton is.’ Stiles shared with him. ‘Do you remember that the Argent’s had a list of seven nemeton’s around the world?’

‘Vaguely.’ Derek frowned, something was ringing a bell about it but he wasn’t sure what.

‘Well, nemeton’s are numerous. There’s a lot more than just seven. They are any area found sacred by the druids.’ Stiles continued but Derek still wasn’t seeing where they were going with this.

Ava nodded. ‘A lot of names of places are derived from their previous occupation of being a nemeton.’

‘So what do you think the nemeton actually is?’ Cora asked.

Derek blinked. Ava thought the nemeton was something else? Did the seer think the same thing? 

Ava winced. ‘That I am unwilling to say just yet. I need to find this nemeton and find out for definite if I am correct before I say anything.’

‘Okay.’ Cora nodded. ‘I can respect that.’

Ava turned to Stiles and looked at him pointedly. ‘We need to start now. I don’t know how long we have left.’

Stiles nodded. ‘We can go now.’

‘No. I want all of my pack with us when we go.’ Cora said, pulling out her phone.

Derek watched as Ava shrugged and nodded to Stiles. He’d both thought that they would put up a fight and want them there at the same time, but the easy acceptance still surprised him.

‘Yeah where are Jackson and Ethan?’ Noah asked.

‘They’re currently discussing whether or not they want Danny and Isaac to be pack. I gave the final decision to them.’

‘Wait! What?’ Stiles exclaimed sitting up suddenly and dislodging Derek.

‘Isaac and Danny are joining your pack?’ Lydia smiled, sounding smug.

Cora shrugged. ‘None of us have any problem with it. We like them, but Jackson has his reservations about Isaac’s pandering of Scott.’

Lydia snorted. ‘That’s putting it delicately.’

Cora grinned back and Derek snorted. ‘Yeah, I won’t use the words that Jackson actually used.’

‘They’re talking it over.’ Cora frowned at her phone. ‘And not answering my texts.’

‘Jackson will cave.’ Lydia predicted definitively. ‘If it means having Danny in your pack, he’ll allow Isaac. Especially as Isaac’s rose coloured glasses have been removed.’

‘That’s what we thought.’ Derek admitted.

‘And we have an hour before school’s out anyway.’ Ava said checking the time on the wall clock. ‘Having him with us will be a good way to see how easily he will fit in with you all.’

‘Well now that that’s sorted, what I really want to know.’ Lydia said, leaning forward in her seat, her eyes alight with curiosity as she smiled at Cora. ‘Is how you became an Alpha?’

‘Ah.’ Cora glanced towards Derek. ‘That is a long story.’

Derek smiled. He knew that Cora didn’t really like retelling the story, that she felt guilty. But he didn’t mind. He was proud of his sister.

Stiles shrugged as he leant into Derek’s side. ‘We’ve got time if you want to tell us.’

‘I don’t mind.’ Derek told Cora.

Stiles raised his eyebrows, his scent changing to worried and confused.

‘I don’t want McCall to know. He’s hurt enough of my pack as it is. I don’t want him to hurt any more of my pack.’ Cora grumbled.

Derek knew it was another delaying tactic, no one here held any sympathy for Scott.

Stiles nodded. ‘Fair enough.’

‘I could quite happily scream for Scott and then sleep peacefully.’ Lydia simply answered as she brought her feet up and leant against Jordan.

Cora was silent for a moment longer, but it was clear that she was gathering her thoughts. ‘In South America, there was a dispute between my pack and another one. Nothing all that serious, but one of the other packs decided not to play by the rules. A group of their young beta’s had killed a small, peaceful pack passing through, including their Alpha. Derek had been staying with me, visiting, when they cornered a few of us younger ones. They hadn’t expected Derek. It descended into chaos quite quickly, and we came out of with Derek as an alpha again.’

‘Wait, what? Derek was an alpha?’ Stiles interrupted, his head swiveling between the two of them, blinking before settling on Derek. ‘But you're a beta? I’ve seen your eyes.’

Derek frowned at the sudden rush of emotions coming from Stiles: worry; anger; sadness. None of it made sense to him, why would Stiles be feeling any of that? Did he feel the same as Derek had over being alpha again? Derek knew it had been a mistake, that he wasn’t made to be an alpha, did Stiles feel the same thing?

‘I didn’t want to be alpha again.’ Derek said an easy shrug, hiding his worry and the pain that filled him that Stiles thought the same.

‘And I was extremely surprised to suddenly find myself no longer a beta in one large pack that I had considered home and family, to a beta in a pack of two.’ Cora said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him.

He nodded back at her.

‘Why would you not want to be an alpha again?’ Stiles asked, tugging on his shoulder to get his attention.

Derek blinked, Stiles smelt worried. Was he worried over why he hadn’t wanted to be an alpha? He had to stop second guessing this and speak to Stiles when they were alone. ‘I knew Cora would make a much better alpha than I ever could.’

‘Shut up Derek.’ Cora glared at him. ‘You learnt from your mistakes.’

‘You weren’t that bad.’ Stiles said instantly. ‘You were going through a lot and the circumstances were shit. I mean Scott hasn’t had to put up with the crap you did and is still rubbish.’

Derek smiled at Cora and nudged Stiles, thankful for his support. He’d been wrong thinking that Stiles hadn’t wanted him to be alpha again. He felt a lump form in his throat and hurriedly spoke while he could. ‘And Cora’s old pack had a really good emissary. So we went to him.’

He couldn’t believe how much Stiles’ support meant to him. He swallowed quickly, ignoring the lump forming in his throat, keeping his gaze on Cora. The only outward sign of emotion he allowed was to tighten his grip on Stiles.

Cora laughed. ‘Yeah, well, Javier our emissary, or rather our old emissary wasn’t Deaton and actually helped. He still does, we’re close allies with my previous pack.’

‘What do you mean?’ Noah asked, sounding utterly lost. 

Derek started guiltily. He’d forgotten Noah was there.

‘He performed the  _ Iste Motus Exercituum _ ?’ Ava asked casually.

Stiles gripped Derek’s arm tightly and blinked. ‘He did?’

‘That’s a thing?’ Kira asked shocked.

Cora looked impressed. ‘You know about it?’

Stiles nodded slowly.

Ava shrugged. ‘I’ve performed it a few times.’

Cora’s jaw dropped. 

Derek wasn’t surprised. Ava seemed to be all knowing and all powerful. If it wasn’t so helpful, he’d find it really annoying. Although she did it so nicely and matter of fact, there was no rubbing it in anyone’s faces. He was pleased Jackson wasn’t here, he’d be unbearable.

Kira stared at Ava.

‘What is it?’ Jordan asked, looking between them all. ‘Am I the only one who doesn’t speak Latin?’

‘No.’ Noah sighed, also looking lost. ‘You’re not.’

‘It’s a ritual to move the alpha spark from one werewolf to another.’ Lydia frowned. ‘From everything I’ve read about it, it isn’t widely known about and can only be practiced by accomplished magic users.’

‘Of which there are a lot more than Deaton has ever let on about.’ Cora rolled her eyes, her unfavourable feeling for the man on full display.

Derek grunted. There was no love lost between their pack and Deaton. It had taken them all a long time to uncover that Deaton had basically left them to fail after his family's death. Deaton should have done a lot more to help them in the aftermath and he hadn’t. He’d stayed hidden and left them to blindly find their own path. Javier had been horrified when they’d told him their full story and had immediately gotten Deaton blacklisted among the reputable community in the supernatural world.

Derek didn’t know if Deaton was aware of the damage to his name or not but he doubted that he did. It all depended on if he’d shunned the supernatural world since leaving Beacon Hills or not. Deaton had never been forthcoming about the supernatural world and never one to offer up any contacts of his, he had a feeling that Deaton had deliberately chosen to stay away from it.

‘Oh goody.’ Stiles grinned at her. ‘You’re not fans of Deaton either.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘So how long have you known that Stiles and Derek were mates?’ Jordan asked Lydia dryly as he set about figuring out Noah’s fancy new coffee machine. He had no idea what was wrong with the old one and had been grateful when Lydia had offered her assistance. It also gave him a chance to catch up with the new information he’d been given. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that she had already known but was surprised when she shrugged.

He still wasn’t sure what his relationship with her was. That whatever they currently had was fleeting but he wanted to pursue it. Lydia wouldn’t stick around Beacon Hills, he knew that, she had a life somewhere else, a life she enjoyed and was happy with. 

She was not happy with Beacon Hills and he knew she would be going back to that life when Stiles and Ava left. That she had only returned for them. But he was enjoying being with her. Their brief fling back when she was in high school had never really had a definitive end for them and he’d always been left wondering. 

He’d honestly been happy for her when she’d gotten together with Stiles. They were well suited together but he couldn’t say he was unhappy that it hadn’t worked out between them.

‘Not long actually. I’ve known there was something between them for a long time. Stiles has never hidden the fact that he was bi. Derek was harder to read. It was only when I came back and saw how he acted around Stiles that I realised he loved him. When Ava was telling us about mates, that Jackson and I used to be mates and it was that connection, the deep level of friendship that stopped us from ever falling out of touch.’ She smiled at him. ‘Stiles had that with Derek.’

Jordan looked at her confused. He hadn’t known that her and Jackson had been mates. He’d assumed that mates was a forever thing, but it was a relief to know that nothing was set in stone. That decisions and free will could still affect things. But Stiles and Derek were completely different to Lydia and Jackson. ‘But they did fall out of touch. Stiles hasn’t seen or heard from Derek in nine years.’

Lydia laughed. ‘Doesn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about him. Have you seen Stiles’s expression when he’s thinking about Derek? He only ever gets that expression when Derek’s involved. And the amount of times he talked about Derek without even realising what he was doing.’

Jordan would have to take her word for it. He hadn’t seen Stiles in nine years. Sure he’d spoken to him on the phone, or seen him on skype when Noah had been visiting, but that was completely different. You didn’t have the long rambling rants or discussions that Stiles was prone to.

‘And it’s clear that Derek was thinking about Stiles.’ He didn’t think Derek was aware of the way he constantly glanced at Stiles, even if Stiles was right next to him. It was as if he didn’t really believe that it was real between them. He hadn’t even left Stiles when Cora had gone to round up the other werewolves so that they could all be together to search for the nemeton.

He’d always gotten on well with Derek and when Derek had returned he had reached out to him. They’d met up a few times for coffee and had bumped into each other so many times running that they had a standing weekly meetup. It helped that neither of them were part of Scott’s pack and by some unspoken agreement, Scott or his pack had never been mentioned. Now that Jordan thought about it, neither had Stiles. And while Derek had never brought up Noah, he had never shied away when Jordan had. It made sense now.

Lydia glared at the ground. ‘I want to kill Scott for what he did to them.’

He slipped his hand into hers, tugging her around to face him. ‘Please don’t do that. I really don’t want to have to arrest you.’ 

Lydia arched an eyebrow at him, grinning seductively as she placed her hands on his chest, rising up on tiptoes. ‘But you can use handcuffs on me anytime.’

Jordan laughed, wrapping his arms around her and leaning forward to kiss her when his phone rang. He groaned and kissed her quickly before pulling away and answering the phone. ‘Sheriff Parrish speaking.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Cora.’

Cora smiled at the way Javier said her name. ‘Javier, it’s good to hear your voice.’

She was on her way to speak to Isaac. She’d volunteered to get him, needing to speak to him about staying with their pack. She didn’t want to offer him a permanent place in her pack without seeing how he would fit long term. It had been a long time since they had all been around each other and they would need to see how they all fit together again, no matter how much the others argued pros and cons. They were no longer teenagers fighting for their lives and being forced to stay together. A trial run was only sensible, Cora wouldn’t commit to anything until she was sure they were a good fit.

‘And yours young alpha.’ She could tell from his voice that he was smiling. ‘It is good to hear from you, when are you next coming to visit?’

‘It’s your turn to visit me, don’t think I’ve forgotten.’ She teased him, knowing it was much harder for him to visit them. While both packs were peaceful, his was much larger and she had bordering packs that she had strong alliances with and trusted to keep an eye on her territory while she was gone. Not that the whole pack ever left at once. That would just be reckless.

His laughter burst through the phone. ‘Yes, Yes, I am well aware and I suppose I can spare time for a quick visit, but just a quick one mind you.’

‘So only a month then?’ She laughed. His last visit has lasted four months and only ended then because he’d been called back to help aid with a neighboring pack dispute.

‘Maybe two.’ He teased back. ‘I’m sure I can rustle up some others to accompany me.’

‘I’ll let you know when I’m back in my territory.’ Cora said, knowing that with Javier he could turn up tomorrow.

He paused. ‘You are not at home. This is not a social call?’

‘You know you are always welcome at any time. But I do have a question.’

‘Then by all means _ mi carina _ , ask away.’

She smiled at his term of endearment. He used it on everyone, no matter their age or sex. ‘An old friend of mine, he never used to be magic, smelt of human. Now he is powerful and smells of burnt sugar or something close to it.’

‘He smells of magic?’ She could hear the surprise in his voice. ‘And he’s powerful you say? How long has it been?’

‘Derek last saw him nine years ago.’

‘That is a long time but magic is inherent, it cannot be stolen, not from someone without any.’ His confusion came down the line clearly.

‘That’s what I believed, so how is he so powerful now?’ Cora asked. It wasn’t something she felt she could ask Stiles, not when he had just reconnected with Derek and everything they had just learnt about him.

‘He had no powers before? Not even a little hint?’

‘I’m told he was a spark.’ Cora frowned when Javier went silent and checked the connection. ‘Javier?’

‘And he’s been well? In the last nine years?’

Cora frowned at Javier's tone. At the strangled urgency. ‘No. How did you know?’

‘He was tortured.’ Javier’s voice had turned odd, distant.

‘Yes. Javier, how did you know?’ She frowned, there was something definitely going on and she had a bad feeling that she needed to find out what it was.

Javier sighed. ‘If a spark goes through prolonged phsycial and mental torture, then the spark reacts. But the torture had to be endured for a long time for the spark to finally react and protect itself.’

Cora blinked. Was Javier serious? By torturing him Argent had turned him magic? ‘I don’t understand. So the torture Stiles went through, gave him magic?’

‘Stiles?’ Javier sounded surprised. ‘Is he with a woman called Ava?’

‘What the? How the hell did you know that?’ Cora demanded. This conversation was getting weirder and weirder. How on god’s green earth had Javier heard of Stiles and Ava?

‘To answer your question, yes. Stiles’s spark learnt to protect him. Unfortunately for him, it only began to react after he’d been freed. I’m surprised you haven't heard of Stiles and Ava. They are quite a force to be reckoned with.’

Cora blinked. ‘Stiles is famous? Seriously?’

Javier laughed. ‘I wouldn’t say famous. Just well known. He and Ava are a supernatural version of the police from what I understand.’

‘What?’ Cora couldn’t get her head around this. Stiles was the police? Not that she doubted that, his father was a sheriff and he had originally joined the FBI. But Stiles, her spastic flailing friend who her brother was head over heals in love with, was a well known supernatural policeman?

‘Ask him, you said he was a friend, no?’

‘No, yes, he is. It just hasn’t exactly been a great visit.’ Cora winced, wanting to beat her head against something to make everything make sense.

‘Do you wish to elaborate?’

Cora sighed as she caught sight of Isaac and waved him down. ‘It’s more Derek’s story to tell than mine.’

‘Then say no more, but do expect a visitor soon.’

She smiled, knowing that as soon as he knew they were home, he would be waltzing through her door. ‘My door is always open to you.’

‘Stay safe  _ mi carina _ .’

‘Bye Javier.’ She hung up, rolled her shoulders and filed away everything he had told her to think over later. She smiled as Isaac headed over. ‘Isaac.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘What’s happened now?’ Scott asked as he walked into Corey’s hospital room. ‘Please don’t say it’s the vampires.’

He smiled half-heartedly at Malia, unsurprised by the angry glare he got in reply. He looked around surprised that most of the pack were here. Stacey and Theo seemed to be the only ones missing but he was pleased that his pack was taking Corey’s safety so seriously. Even Natalie was here.

‘No. We haven’t heard anything more about the vampires but we do have something serious to discuss, together, as a pack, without blame or judgement.’ Natalie said stepping forward from her place next to Liam.

Scott blinked in surprise but nodded, pleased that she was taking such an active role. Deaton never had and he’d been the only emissary Scott had ever had. He knew others sometimes liked to take a more active role and while Natalie had said she would, it was still a surprise to see it in action.

‘Sure. What’s up?’ Seeing as there were no spare chairs going free, Scott settled himself against the wall.

‘It’s come to my attention that a lot of pack etiquette isn’t being followed.’ Natalie began.

Scott blinked at her. What on earth was she talking about? ‘Pack etiquette?’

Natalie nodded. ‘I’m going to go over the most common things.’

‘Wait, what?’ Scott stared around at the others only to find Malia still glaring at him, Corey and Mason staring at him hopefully and Liam looking guilty for some reason. The others just looked slightly bored or sheepish, he couldn’t really tell.

‘In packs, they have a hierarchy that you know about, betas and alphas. Omegas are packless and without the stability a pack provides can turn feral. Alphas make the decisions however they need to listen to their betas and take in their opinions. No one becomes a pack member without full approval from the entire pack.’ Natalie took a breath. ‘Which is why, once this is over, I am removing myself as pack emissary until a vote can occur in which every pack member has a say in it.’

‘You don’t want to be my emissary?’ Scott stared at her in shock. What the hell was happening?

‘I do. But I don’t know if the entire pack wants me to be their emissary.’ Natalie replied, looking at him sadly. ‘But there are other things that I’ve noticed. Good alphas never use their voice and authority to enforce their orders.’

‘I don’t do that.’ Scott immediately denied. Did they think he did that? Why had no one ever said anything to him? He’d never ordered anyone to do anything they didn’t want to. How could they think that of him?

‘I’m not saying that you do, not consciously anyway.’ Natalie told him. ‘But you do realise that when you’re stressed and want order or compliance you use your alpha voice?’

‘No I don't. Do I?’ Scott looked around at his pack, stunned when not a single one of them met his eyes. His heart dropped. Had he ordered them to do things they didn’t want to? Why had nobody said anything? ‘I do? When?’

He was surprised when it was Corey who spoke up. ‘When you insisted that Mason and I come with you to fight the vampires. And look how well that worked out.’

Scott stared at him, horrified. Had he done that? He couldn’t remember. He remembered they had been bickering that he’d just wanted to stop and that he’d needed the whole pack on board. But he honestly didn’t recall ordering anyone to fight. Did his pack honestly feel that way about him? ‘I-I.’ A bowling ball suddenly appeared in his throat. He breathed through his nose, forcing the words out. ‘I’m so sorry Corey.’

‘When you introduced me into the pack, you alpha ordered everyone into stopping all talk of nogitsunes.’ Natalie pointed out.

Scott stared at her, desperately trying to think back and remember. ‘I, I did?’

‘You did. But you weren’t the only one in the wrong.’ Liam said, coming to stand next to his girlfriend. ‘Not a single one of us brought it to your attention. Anytime you did something we didn’t like or weren’t sure of, we never said anything. And that is on us.’

Scott felt sick. Why would his pack not say anything to him? Were they scared of him? And what the hell did Liam mean “Anytime he did something”? How many times had he done something they hadn’t liked or agreed with? ‘What do you mean?’

‘Scott, we called you yesterday to discuss this.’ Mason said quietly.

Scott turned to him and blinked. Mason very rarely spoke up around him, was this because he was too intimidated by him? And what did he mean they’d called him yesterday for this? Sure, he’d had a few missed calls from them but nothing that read as urgent. ‘Nobody said anything yesterday.’

‘Because we couldn’t get hold of you.’

‘No one said it was important!’

‘Any missed call from a pack member is important.’ Natalie quickly cut in and Scott couldn’t help but feel as if she was trying to diffuse tension. He couldn’t understand why everyone was ganging up on him though. He’d been doing an okay job. Before Stiles had come back, he’d thought he’d been doing a great job. And okay, he should have known about Chris. He still wasn’t sure how he should have known but he should have.

‘Not just Malia’s calls.’

Scott winced. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard this. But he’d never really accepted it before. He was now. Stiles was right. He really was a shit alpha.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Scott, I need you to understand how important this is.’ Natalie said to him. ‘Not answering any pack member’s call, whatever the situation, when done enough times, will stop that member from believing that you can or are willing to protect them. They will start going to someone else. From everything I’ve heard and understood, this is what happened to Stiles.’

Scott froze. Something sharp and hard lodged in his throat. The many missed calls he’d received from Stiles in high school flashed through his mind. But he’d always been busy then and Stiles had always shrugged them off afterwards, laughing about the danger he’d been in. And Scott had let him. He’d never thought that he’d been leaving his best friend, his human friend, to fend for himself. To fight off creatures stronger than him. Creatures that had a major advantage, creatures that Stiles should never have been able to win against. He’d caused the split in their friendship. He’d thought they’d just grown apart. But he’d been the reason. He hadn’t been there for his best friend.

He nodded, unable to speak. He got it. He’d forced Stiles to depend on others by ignoring his calls. And he was doing it again. He had never stopped. He’d never thought it was a problem. Nobody had ever said, but he was realising that no one should have, he’d just never seen it. And yet again, it had to be pointed out to him.

‘Okay.’ He heard the harshness of his voice, the lump still very much present in his throat.

‘There’s also the matter of pack bonds.’ Natalie said but her voice was gentler this time.

He nodded automatically before frowning. She’d mentioned that to him before and he still didn’t know what she meant. ‘Pack bonds?’ 

He looked around, relieved that he wasn’t the only one who looked confused.

Natalie sighed. ‘Every wolf in a pack has pack bonds. They are bonds between each member of the pack. A human won’t be able to physically feel them but can still be aware of them. Other supernatural creatures can feel them as well. An alpha should feel and be aware of every single bond within their pack.’

‘What?’ Scott stared at. He didn’t feel anything like that. What the hell?

‘I don’t understand.’ Malia spoke up and even though she wasn’t looking at him, Scott had never been so relieved to hear her voice.

Natalie sighed. ‘There is a bond between every pack member. Whether it’s alpha to beta, beta to beta, beta to human, to witch, to emissary, to lover, to parent. Every single relationship within a pack will have a bond. They are identical to normal relationships with the exception being that it is a tangible bond.’

She paused and Scott nodded. So far he was keeping up with her.

‘The alpha should be most aware of these and the differences between these bonds.’

‘What?’ Scott accidentally yelped. He swallowed.

‘I’ll help you feel and understand the differences.’ Natalie nodded at him and his heart dropped as he realised this was just another thing he had failed at.

‘The stronger the relationship, the stronger the bond.’ Natalie continued.

Scott frowned. ‘So my bond with Malia would be stronger than say, my bond with you?’

Natalie smiled at him and nodded. ‘Exactly.’

‘What about someone we don’t like?’ Joanna asked.

Natalie nodded. ‘Good question. There is still a bond, but it’s nature is different and it isn’t as strong or bright.’

‘Bright?’ Mason questioned.

‘For those who can see the bonds, the stronger the bond, the brighter it is.’

‘So mine and Corey’s?’

‘Very bright and solid. It represents your bond as husbands, lovers, friends and packmates. You trust each other implicitly and it shows.’

‘And mine to Theo’s?’ Corey asked.

Natalie winced. ‘Thin, dull and fraying.’

‘What? Why?’ Scott asked, suddenly worried. Did that mean there was something wrong with Theo?

Corey snorted. ‘Because nobody likes or trusts him.’

‘Again.’ Natalie interrupted when Scott opened his mouth to answer. ‘His becoming pack was not put to a vote.’

Scott winced. That was true. Theo had become pack when Stiles and Derek were still with them, there was no way that Stiles would have voted for him to join. ‘Okay. But why can’t I see these bonds?’

Natalie shrugged. ‘Not every alpha can see them, but you should be able to feel them.’

‘Feel them?’ Scott repeated, feeling more and more like an idiot.

Natalie nodded, opened her mouth, hesitated, and closed it again.

‘What?’ Scott asked, dread crawling up through his stomach.

Natalie sighed, looking suddenly drawn and tired. ‘When Stiles was tortured, you still thought of him as pack, correct?’

Scott nodded, unable to speak, the lump in his throat reappearing.

‘You should have been able to feel what he was going through.’ Her voice was gentle and soft but it still cut through him like Kira’s samurai sword through cloth.

‘I, what?’ His voice was hoarse, he tried to swallow and almost gagged. He opened his mouth and dragged as much air in as he could before realising it in a rush. He took a moment to breathe through the nausea. ‘Why didn’t I feel it?’

Natalie looked at him sadly. ‘I don’t know.’

  
  
  
  
  
  


‘Hey Cora.’ Isaac smiled at her. He felt strange being around her. They had been good friends at one point but then he’d left to do Chris’ bidding and she’d somehow become an alpha. It hurt that she hadn’t told him, but then he hadn’t really kept in contact with her either. He’d thought she was still in South America and truthfully hadn’t realised just how long it had been since they’d last spoken.

‘Isaac.’ She smiled back at him. ‘It’s good to see you again.’

‘Is it?’ The words were out of his mouth before he’d even realised he’d thought it.

She sighed and pulled him into a hug. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her and pushed his nose into her neck, inhaling deeply. She had a similar scent to Derek but one that she made all her own. It smelt like home. Both her and Derek had always had that ability.

‘I missed you.’ He whispered, trying hard not to tighten his hold.

‘I kept the same number.’ She whispered back before pulling away.

He only just managed to refrain from whimpering. He wasn’t sure what was going on with him but his emotions were all over the place. How could he have not realised how much he missed her?

‘I’ve been talking to my pack and they’ve been talking to Danny. Now I want to make my position perfectly clear. I do not want anything to do with Scott McCall or his pack. He’s hurt the people I love too many times and I am honestly surprised he’s still alive. But if you want to leave here and need somewhere to stay, then you are welcome with me and my pack.’ Isaac stared at her in shock. He could feel his mouth open and close. He honestly hadn’t expected any of that from Cora. ‘Of course, Danny is planning on staying with us.’

He nodded quickly. His answer would always have been yes, but no there was no doubt or hesitancy. He would do whatever it took to stay with Danny. ‘Yeah. Yes. If that’s okay?’

She grinned and there was the Cora he knew. That sly spark in her eyes. ‘Isaac. I don’t know how you haven’t realised that you’re family. You were Derek’s first beta, you’ll always be family even if you choose a different pack.’

His heart clenched and he knew Cora had heard the sudden uptick but he’d heard her words and understood the implication. He had a chance to choose her pack. ‘I’m so sorry Cora. I’m sorry I ever listened to him.’

She stared at him looking exasperated. ‘You knew what he did to Derek, why on earth would you ever listen to Scott?’ 

‘Scott?’ Isaac asked, wrinkling his nose in confusion. ‘I was talking about Chris.’

Cora sighed, leaning into him and he breathed in her scent feeling all of his muscles relax. ‘Chris had us all fooled, even Derek believed him. But why would you go back to Scott?’

Isaac shrugged sheepishly. ‘I thought he would listen to me.’

Cora gave him another look.

He sighed and allowed his head to flop onto her. This feeling, this right here, was what he’d been looking for, what he’d thought he would find with Scott. Maybe if he’d stayed in contact with her, he’d had found this a whole hell of a lot sooner and with less heartache. ‘I know. I was an idiot.’

‘Yeah, you were.’ Cora nudged him. ‘But you’re our idiot.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Jackson?’ 

He turned as an unfamiliar voice called him and couldn’t help his pause when he recognised one of McCalls betas. He sneered at her as she approached, hiding his confusion at her relieved look. He didn’t know which one she was or care, or but he also didn’t like that she seemed to want to talk to him.

‘You’re back. Do you mind if I ask you something?’

‘Whatever McCall wants he can go fuck himself.’ Jack had already turned to leave when he realised the woman was actually smiling at his retort. He glanced back, an uneasy frown on his brow as he glared at her.

‘I’ll be telling him that when I tell him I’m leaving.’

He turned back to her fully. She had managed what none of McCall’s pack or Scott himself had managed, and that was to get his full attention. ‘You’re leaving McCall’s pack?’

She nodded. ‘I didn’t want to bother Derek or Isaac. They were really upset last time I saw them. But I need to find another pack. I don’t want to turn feral but I can’t stay.’

Jackson blinked. He had not been expecting this. It seemed McCall wasn’t doing as well as he thought he was. ‘Where do you want to go?’

She shrugged. ‘Preferably somewhere I can get a job but honestly as long as I’m not in Scott’s pack, I think it’ll be an improvement.’

He eyed her suspiciously. She was a bit too anti Scott but if he helped get one over Scott, it would help him sleep at night. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Stacey.’

That seemed to check out, he remembered Derek talking about a Stacey. He hadn’t known much about her but thought she’d seemed alright. ‘You know there are packs all over the world right? You can go anywhere you want.’ 

He frowned when she just stared at him.

‘What?’ She sounded shocked.

‘You must be bitten.’ He sighed, wondering what the hell McCall was telling these people. But then, he’d once been in their position as well.

‘Yeah.’ She nodded. ‘A couple years ago.’

‘And you know McCall’s never left Beacon Hills?’

‘I got that impression.’ She told him dryly.

He found himself grinning. He was beginning to warm up to her and saw no harm in giving her information that every werewolf should be aware of. ‘You find somewhere you want to go. And I’ll get you a list of packs that I know are friendly. It’s best to stay around them for a while before joining to make sure it's all a good fit first.’

She nodded at him and held out a card. ‘Thanks. Here’s my number. I work at the morgue.’

He grimaced but took the card, pocketing it smoothly. ‘Nice.’

She shrugged. ‘Couldn’t stand to be a doctor after the bite. Too much on my senses.’

‘You were a doctor?’ He asked, blinking. McCall had bitten a doctor?

She smiled sadly. ‘Yeah.’

There was more to that story. Jackson surprised himself by wanting to know it. But then, if it led to weaknesses of McCall’s, then of course he would want to know it. He could stand to make nice for a little while longer. ‘How quickly are you wanting to get away?’

‘I’ve got to work two weeks' notice. I was just waiting for options.’ Her heartbeat was steady. She wasn’t lying.

‘Consider yourself having options. I’ll speak to my alpha, my pack has connections with several others.’ He knew that no pack in their right minds would ever turn down a doctor. Stacey was holding all the eggs and had no idea. She had plenty of options and he would make sure she knew all of them. Once she was away from McCall.

She looked at him and he smelt her surprise, gratitude and sincerity. ‘Thank you. Really. Thank you.’

He nodded and pulled out his phone as he walked away. He glanced back to see her heading in the opposite direction down the street and hit speed dial.

‘You will not believe the conversation I’ve just had.’ He said the second the phones connected.

  
  
  
  



	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Massive thanks to BooksAreMedicine for providing inspiration for the names of Stiles and Ava’s job. 
> 
> Marvel and DC Comics characters are mentioned. The Avengers are owned by Marvel. Shadowpact and Spectre are owned by DC Comics. Peter Pan, Wendy, Smee, Captain Hook, Nanny and Tinkerbell are all public domain (except in the USA where copyright is owned by Great Ormond Street Hospital until 2023) but were created by JM Barrie. Apologies if I’ve missed any.

Stiles looked up and frowned as Lydia walked back into the room without Jordan. ‘Lyds?’

Noah followed suit and recognised the look on her face. He hadn’t been in law enforcement for most of his life not to recognise a look that held bad news. Nor did it take a genius to work out that it was probably related to Jordan seeing as she’d left them to help Jordan make them all coffees. 

Not that he held that against her, he had no idea how the new-fangled contraption worked. He just wanted his old coffee machine back. Even if the coffees produced did taste a little bit like heaven. He couldn’t believe he’d been bested by a stupid coffee machine that most people needed to take out a mortgage to buy.

Her look wouldn’t be anything to do with her banshee powers, she had a different look for that depending on what stage through the process he was seeing her at. The start of it was dazed and vacant, then there was the release when the scream tore through her, then a mixture of dazed, nauseous, terrified and exhausted. This wasn’t any of them. This wasn’t as strong as her terrified look but held none of the dazed and vacantness that the banshee side of her brought out in her expression.

‘Jordan’s on the phone. There's another body.’ Lydia sighed, looking more tired and resigned than upset. He knew her well enough to know that she was feeling guilty that she was relieved it wasn’t someone she knew and loved. Relieved that she hadn’t felt the pull of a scream.

‘Where?’ Noah asked, unsurprised when Stiles echoed his question.

Lydia shrugged but he knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t unaffected by the news. She swallowed. ‘Not in Beacon Hills but it sounds as if she was found not too far from us.’

‘Cora should have rounded up Isaac, Jackson and Ethan by now.’ Ava said, glancing at Stiles. ‘We need to find this nemeton now.’

‘You all be careful.’ Noah eyeballed them all. He knew he was on medical leave and couldn’t go out and help and it grated on him. It grated worse than when he had been able bodied and Scott had gas lighted him. But his son hadn’t been involved then. And thanks to Ava, he was perfectly able bodied and while he knew that a werewolf could quite easily get rid of his cast, how the hell would he explain it to the town? And Beacon Hills was too nosy to allow him to get away with glossing over it. He’d been here too long and was too well known.

‘I’ll call Melissa. I want her here.’ Stiles said, already on his phone. 

Noah nodded, this was the safest place in all of Beacon Hills and probably the whole of the United States with the exception of Stiles’ and Ava’s house in New Orleans. He wanted Melissa here too even though he knew there was no way that the vampires could know that they were going in search of the nemeton to stop them.

‘We should get Danny here as well. It’s the most heavily protected place in Beacon Hills.’ Ava said, glancing between Cora and Derek. ‘I don’t have his number.’

‘I’ll call him.’ Derek offered, pulling his phone out.

Noah sighed, resigned to taking a back seat. He knew he was going to have to get used to it. Jordan was acting Sheriff and soon his notice would be up and he would no longer be a part of Beacon Hills Sheriff Department let alone their Sheriff.

This morning that thought had filled him with joy. Now he didn’t know how he felt.

  
  
  
  


‘Daughter.’ Peter sauntered into the room, all sly looks and smirks.

Malia narrowed her eyes at him. She’d hadn’t expected him for another day at least and she hadn’t been able to decide if he was telling the truth or had wanted her anger to cool off by the time he got there. But he wasn’t the type to stop murderous urges aimed against someone he disliked. Not even for his daughter. It had taken her a long time to understand. Stiles had explained to her the difference between right and wrong, what was legal, what was illegal, morally right and being immoral. It had taken her a long time to learn and understand. Add Peter into the mix and she’d been utterly lost. Stiles had again explained the differences in people.

She’d decided learning the general gist of right and wrong was hard enough without her biological dad involved, and with all the conflicting information she had learnt about him, hadn’t wanted him in her life.

It was Stiles who had told her it was okay to accept him. That while Peter would never be on their level or have their morals, that didn’t necessarily mean it was a bad thing. But it had only been after Stiles had left that she had understood what he’d meant. And that had taken her a long time to understand as well. Mainly because Scott hated Peter. It had left at her odds, her alpha and lover not accepting her father, but she’d found a way to make it work. 

‘Peter.’ Scott grimaced at him. Malia could smell his disappointment and disdain but she ignored him. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Father.’ Malia sniffed at him, before breaking into a smile and pulling him into a hug. She hadn’t seen him in person for ages and their weekly chats didn’t really compare.

Their relationship had been slow to start, and to be fair, it was mainly due to Stiles. Stiles had been the one to tell her that he’d willingly been burnt alive trying to get free from the ghost riders, his concern had been for her and not himself. It had disconcerted her and while she had allowed him into her life, she still hadn’t trusted him. That had only come after Stiles had left. Derek had left as well and she had found herself craving family. Peter wasn’t exactly pack and while he was around, he wasn’t there all the time, disappearing for months on end.

It was only after he’d been gone for almost a year that she realised she’d missed him on his return. She hadn’t shied away from telling him and she knew that Scott didn’t understand. She was upfront about everything though. Stiles had told her continuously relationships need communication and lies always came back to bite you on your arse.

‘What?’ Scott blinked at her, staring in shock.

‘I take it that you being here means you’ll help me?’ Malia asked, ignoring her boyfriend. She was still angry with him.

Peter hummed but his eyes were twinkling. She had her answer. ‘I need to check in with my pack, but yes, I’m always willing to hunt down and kill an Argent. Even more so if it’s the last of the line.’

Malia blinked at Peter. She knew he had a pack but this need to check in with them was new. She opened her mouth to tell him so when Scott cut in.

‘Wait!’ Scott yelled, turning to Malia with a shocked expression. ‘You called him? You’re in contact with him?

Malia looked at Scott confused. She told him every time she was going to talk to him but she always without fail went to the preserve or the old Hale house where they’d put up a monument to speak to him. She found out very quickly that she liked the freedom of being outside when they talked. ‘You know I talk to him every week.’

‘No I didn’t!’

‘I told you I call my dad every Sunday!’ She shot back, not in the mood to deal with his pettiness. She could feel her control slipping and was surprised that her claws retracted when Peter rubbed her back soothingly.

She had confided in him her struggle to remain in control after Stiles had left, and he’d talked her through it much better than Scott ever had. It had been what had bonded them. Scott had wanted her to change her anchor from Stiles to him. He’d managed to change his anchor when Allison had died so had complete faith in her that she could do it too.

It had taken her a long time to be able to remain in control during the full moon after Stiles had left, eventually she had managed it, but it had taken her a year, a year when the constant headache that had sprung up after Stiles and Derek’s departure had finally disappeared. But she’d still struggled with anger. 

Peter had helped enormously, but the one who had helped the most had been Lydia. She’d been back in town three years after Stiles had left. She realised now that it was actually two years after he’d been rescued, and Malia had been pestering her about him. Eventually Lydia had shown her a photo of him silhouetted against a bright blue sky sitting on a dock somewhere. 

It had instantly calmed her. She had never asked what Lydia had seen in her to get her to agree to send her the photo and even now she didn’t really want to know. Scott had assumed that her newfound calmness was due to her successfully changing her anchor to him. She had never corrected him and he had been ecstatic.

She realised now how bad that was. She hadn’t actually taken Stiles’ advice not to have secrets. Not in everything. She’d allowed Scott to bulldoze over her and get his own way because it was easier than fighting with the man she loved. Scott hadn’t been the only one in the wrong. She had been too. But it was just so easy to blame Scott, especially as he’d been the one to push her into all but lying to him about this.

Nor was it surprising that her control was slipping again after Stiles’ revelation. She would make it up to him though. He needed space at the moment and she would give him that while she hunted down Chris Argent with Peter’s help.

Scott blinked looking shocked. ‘I thought you meant Mr Tate!’

Malia stared at him. She went over to her adopted father’s the first weekend of every month to have dinner with him and his new wife. With Scott. How could he have possibly thought she meant him?

‘As much as I would, sincerely, love to witness this little domestic, I’m more interested in why we’re hunting down and killing Chris Argent. Especially as he seems to have disappeared eight years ago and is presumed dead.’

Malia was impressed, it seemed he had done his homework after her call. But then that was kind of in his job description. You wanted something found no matter how illegal? Call Peter Hale. He was the best in the supernatural import and export business. She didn’t know the first thing about searching for something or someone. Mason and Corey were the pack researchers and the ones she would normally go to for this, and as much as she wanted to ask for their help, she couldn’t put this burden on them on top of everything.

‘Wait, what?’ Scott turned to him; his eyes filled with horror. ‘I’m not letting you kill anyone. Is that why you returned?’

Malia watched Peter smirk at him, feeling slightly vindictive as she stayed quiet. ‘That is the plan.’

‘My plan.’ Malia quickly interrupted before Scott could go off on one about Peter’s evil ways.

‘Our plan.’ Peter winked at her and something eased in her chest. 

She didn’t feel so alone any more. But Peter had that effect on her now. She knew and understood him better and accepted his devious nature. Who was she to change him? Especially when he had accepted who she was and hadn’t tried to change her.

It was only when Peter’s eyes widened that she realised he had felt it as well.

  
  
  
  


‘Danny, where are you?’ 

Danny frowned at the urgency in Isaac’s voice. ‘Isaac? I’m at home, working on that bank’s security. What’s wrong? What’s happened?’

‘Stay home. Whatever you do, don’t leave the house. Surround it with that mountain ash I gave you.’ That wasn’t just urgency in Isaac’s voice but fear too.

Danny frowned and then heard another voice call down the phone. It sounded like Cora. ‘Mountain ash won’t do anything against vampires. You need beech ash. That’s why Derek was calling him.’

‘I don’t have any beech ash!’ He heard Isaac virtually snarl.

‘But I do.’ Danny shouted down the phone, not knowing what the hell was going on or why Isaac was so scared. He always lashed out when he was scared. And since when had Derek been calling him? He hadn’t heard his phone go off, but he knew how he got when he was working. ‘Now what the hell is going on?’

He heard Isaac sigh. ‘We’re going in search on the nemeton. I’m worried about the vampires. They killed a girl a county over.’

Danny was quiet a moment. ‘Do you think they’re coming after me?’

‘I don’t know.’ Isaac admitted. ‘But they went after Liam and Natalie. I’m not leaving it to chance.’

‘I’ll surround the house. I’ll stay in. I’ll do everything I can to stay safe. What about you?’

‘Ava, Stiles, Kira, Lydia, Jordan and Derek’s pack are with me. We’re as safe as we possibly can be. You’d be safer at Stiles’ house with his dad and Melissa, but I don’t want you out on the streets.’

‘I’m sure it’ll be fine.’ Danny said, grabbing his bad and shoving everything he could think of into it as he rushed around grabbing at whatever he could think of. If Isaac needed him safe then he would damn well find a way to keep himself safe. And to be perfectly honest, he did not want to be sitting at home, alone, worrying out of his mind about Isaac. At least at Stiles’ house he would have the sheriff there.

‘No. Danny, it's too dangerous.’ Isaac protested.

‘Look I’m leaving now. I’ve got the car. I’ll stay on the phone to you the whole way okay?’ Danny loved Isaac, but there was no way he was staying at their home, alone, and waiting for news. Not when somewhere else would be safer for him and he had the added bonus of company. He could work anywhere. Not that he would be getting any work done, but with Noah in the know now, he would be able to get more information.

  
  
  


‘So, I was talking to my old pack emissary earlier.’ Cora glared at Stiles, instantly getting Derek’s attention while Isaac paced back and forth on the phone to Danny. He’d tried numerous times to get hold of Danny, as had Isaac. Isaac had been on brink of wolfing out and going home when Danny had finally answered. ‘And apparently he’d heard all about Stiles and Ava.’

‘What?’ Derek frowned at her. How had her old pack heard of them? They hadn’t even heard of half the things that had down in Beacon Hills over the years and had never acted as if they’d known Stiles when he and Cora had stayed with them.

‘Your South American pack?’ Stiles frowned but smelt curious. ‘Are they friends with the Sousa pack?’

Derek stared at Stiles. ‘Everyone knows the Sousa pack.’

The Sousa pack was the largest pack in South America and one of the largest in the world. Everyone knew them, there were stories about them that he’d been raised on. They had been the first pack to have more than one alpha, but they worked completely differently to the alpha pack. It was more of a network. 

The pack covered so much territory that it was inevitable that one of them would end up in a fight against another alpha and win, but instead of moving on and finding their own territory or dividing their territory, they had shared it, with one alpha having slightly more authority than the other. It was similar to how the military worked. Of course, it had helped that the one who had turned into an alpha was the daughter of the current alpha. They had kept expanding and gaining more territory and a few decades later, another one of their pack became an alpha. Which is when they began to network with each other. It was more of an alliance, they all intermingled, some more than others. There were no strict lines in the sand between them and now there were several alpha’s in the Sousa pack.

Of course, not all of those who became alphas were happy to stay and be an alpha under another alpha’s authority, no matter how slight, but those ones usually left to find their own territory and pack. There was one instance of a young alpha trying to take over and rule the whole Sousa pack. It was said his screams still echoed around the Andes if you knew how to listen for them.

‘Yeah we helped them out a couple years ago.’ Ava sighed. ‘Lucas was, er… most helpful.’ Stiles raised a disbelieving eyebrow. ‘What? He was.’

‘He slept with both of us.’ Stiles deadpanned.

Derek almost choked on his own breath. He blinked and quickly reigned in his emotions before anyone, namely Cora, could notice. He glanced at Kira, but she seemed absolutely fine with hearing about her girlfriends past sexual exploits.

When Stiles had bluntly told his pack they wouldn’t be having sex that first night he’d brought Derek back from being feral and had stayed with him the entire night, Derek hadn’t been sure how to take that statement. He hadn’t been ready to have sex with Stiles either that night, not emotionally anyway, physically he was definitely was and his body and wolf both wanted Stiles. But Stiles had been so adamant, as if there was something else driving that statement. Derek had been wondering if Stiles was ace and how to bring that up, or if Stiles’ time being tortured held horrors that Derek didn’t know about. Which again he didn’t know how to bring up.

But now Stiles was staying that he had slept with people since. And had slept with men as well. Derek steadied his breathing as he tried to sort his mind out. He didn’t know what to think but knew that he had to speak to Stiles about it. Alone. It wasn’t sounding as if Stiles was ace or had some trauma preventing him from seeking out sexual comfort, so was it Derek? Did he just not want to sleep with him?

Ava snorted. ‘Speak for yourself. I slept with him first.’

‘It is not a competition!’ Stiles retorted instantly, making this sound as if it was an old argument. Derek did his best to pay attention and get his mind back on track.

‘Only because you slept with him the following night.’

Stiles glared at her. ‘You didn’t tell me you’d slept with him!’

‘Would that have stopped you?’

Derek cleared his throat, feeling slightly awkward. He didn’t want to think about Stiles sleeping with other people when he wouldn’t with him, but it did make him realise how little he knew about Stiles now. ‘So, err, what do you two actually do?’

Stiles glanced at Ava. The look did not reassure Derek.

‘Javier said you were a sort of supernatural police?’ Cora asked.

Derek frowned. That was a thing?

‘Exactly!’ Stiles beamed at her. ‘We do that!’

‘You police the supernatural?’ Derek asked dubiously. It kind of made sense in a weird Stiles way. Stiles had initially joined the FBI, and he knew exactly what Kate had done to him. It didn’t surprise him that Stiles would be the one to get something like this up and running, especially after what Chris had done to him.

He felt a hand rub his arm and he relaxed at Jackson’s touch.

‘How does that work?’ Kira asked as she played with Ava’s fingers.

‘No, we settle disputes or fights. We usually get called in.’ Stiles explained without really explaining much.

Derek shared a glance with Ethan who just shrugged. It was clear he wasn’t the only one in their pack who hadn’t heard of anything like this.

‘Do you have a name? How do people get in contact with you?’ Cora asked. He could feel her nervous anticipation. If something like this had existed when they were children, they could have gotten justice for their family. Kate would not have gotten away with it. She wouldn’t have been free to commit countless more violent acts.

‘We’re called Shadowpact!’ Stiles bounced excitedly, his eyes lighting up.

Kira grinned. ‘That’s so cool!’

Derek glanced at Lydia who seemed to be ignoring the lot of them as she quietly conversed with Jordan about the girl the vampires had killed in the next county. The sheriff over there was unsure if the cases were related due to the singular fact that she hadn’t been mauled as badly as the cases over here. Jordan couldn’t exactly call him up and tell him that was because Ava and Stiles had killed four of the vampires.

‘We are not called Shadowpact.’ Ava glared at him, sounding resigned. It seemed this was another old argument they were both used to having.

Jackson huffed next to him and rolled his eyes before resting his chin on Ethan’s shoulder and staring at Isaac who was still pacing.

‘Well, no but we’re just like them.’ Stiles grinned, winking at him.

‘We are not like Shadowpact.’ Ava said warningly.

Stiles threw his hands up into the air. ‘Yes we are, they fought against Spectre, they fight against evil.’

‘The Spectre avenged murders. We would not fight against the Spectre!’ Ava turned to him, her eyes wide in her vehemence and her hands on her hips. ‘We would fight with Spectre! And no, we’re not like Spectre!’’

‘Fine. We’re like the Avengers!’ Stiles grinned.

‘We are not like the Avengers!’ Ava groaned.

Derek blinked wondering what can of worms they had just unknowingly opened.

‘Danny’s made it to your place safely.’ Isaac breathed out a sigh of relief as he inadvertently put a stop to their argument. ‘Thank you.’

‘No problem.’ Stiles grinned at him, swinging his arms. ‘We ready to do this?’

‘How do we do this?’ Jackson asked bluntly.

Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles, smiling when he felt Stiles instantly lean back and relax into his embrace. It eased something in him as well. They would talk after they found this nemeton and figure out whatever it was they needed to figure out. Stiles had no problem touching him and crowding into his personal space, he trusted Stiles and he trusted them to sort out whatever this no sex thing was.

Ava grinned over at them. ‘Follow my lead.’

‘Just for the record, you are not Peter Pan and I am not Tinkerbell.’ Stiles glared at her, but stayed in Derek’s embrace making no effort to move.

‘Of course not.’ Ava grinned at him. ‘I’m Tinkerbell in every scenario.’ 

‘Oh yeah even when she betrays Peter Pan and gets kidnapped?’ Stiles grinned at her.

She snorted. ‘As if.’

‘Nah, I’d say you were more Captain Hook.’ Lydia grinned as her and Jordan re-joined the conversation.

Ava caught her eye and they spoke at the same time. ‘Stiles is Smee.’

‘Hey!’ Stiles glared at them both and moved forward out of Derek’s embrace but slipped his hand into his. ‘If anyone, I’m Wendy.’ He raised his hand that was holding onto Derek’s. ‘I got the guy. Therefore, I’m one of the romantic leads.’

‘Any reason why you’re the female romantic lead?’ Lydia asked innocently.

‘I'd have thought Stiles was more along the lines of Nanny.’ Cora said lightly.

Stiles glared at her. ‘Please. When have I ever mothered anyone? Can we get back on track here?’

Derek paused and stared at him. Stiles mothered everyone. Sure, he was an ass about it, but he still made sure that everyone was okay. Well, everyone that he loved anyway. He kept on at his dad about his diet, he’d kept on at Scott about his homework, he’d been willing to help Derek out and saw off his arm when they’d barely known each other to keep him from dying. 

Yeah Stiles bitched about it, but he mothered everyone that meant something to him. Was he the only one to see that? Obviously Cora did as well. But then Stiles had come over the other night after leaving him and Cora would have seen immediately how Stiles took care of him, curling himself around him while allowing Derek to hide in his embrace, to inhale his smell and allow it to settle his nerves and calm him, while Stiles took the piss out of Cora, Jackson, Ethan and whatever they’d ended up watching on TV.

Lydia rolled her eyes but kept quiet, instead linking her hand with Jordan’s.

‘Sure, but it’s quite boring.’ Ava shrugged but sent Derek a smile. Maybe Stiles’ mothering habits were well known but never talked about. ‘I go for a walk in the preserve and wait for my spidey senses to start tingling.’

‘I regret introducing you to that franchise.’ Stiles groaned.

‘Please.’ Ava dismissed. ‘I’d seen the old versions; I just hadn’t bothered watching the new ones.’

‘So why are we looking for the nemeton?’ Cora frowned. ‘What’s going to happen when we find it?’

‘Stiles and Ava have this theory that it's not actually the nemeton but something else.’ Jackson groaned, sounding incredibly hard done by. Derek was surprised that he hadn’t piped up about Stiles' nature to look after everyone, after all Jackson was outspoken about everything, but then Jackson hadn’t been close to Stiles until recently. He probably hadn't experienced it and could easily put the other night down to Stiles’ and his new relationship.

‘Yeah, I know, but that doesn’t explain why we need to find it. What are we going to do once we do find it?’ Cora asked.

‘See if I’m right.’ Ava smiled at them as she started walking and they all fell into step behind or around her.

‘And if you are?’

Ava smiled sadly. ‘Then I need to be very convincing and do a lot of sweet talking.’

‘Huh?’ Jackson stared at her horrified. ‘Defeating the vampires depends on you sweet talking a tree?’

‘No.’ Ava smiled at him amused. ‘But it will hopefully nullify their purpose in being here and stop them gaining any more power.’

  
  
  


‘Scott?’ Malia asked, wondering how long it would take her to regret calling him. She’d already been on edge about calling him but he was her boyfriend and at the end of the day, she did love him. No matter how angry and furious she was at him. They had been together for over ten years and she was comfortable with him. She loved him and enjoyed being with him. But she wasn’t happy currently and she was unsure if she could blame Scott for that. She had a say in their relationship as well, it wasn’t all one sided.

‘Malia! God, I’m so glad you called!’

‘I’m still mad at you.’ Malia told him bluntly. Sometimes Scott didn’t get social cues, it was why she thought they worked so well. She was blunt and he was socially blind, together they worked. ‘But I’m worried about Derek.’

Scott paused on the other end of the phone. ‘What’s wrong with Derek?’

Malia breathed out slowly. Maybe Scott had learnt something, she certainly hadn’t expected that answer. She’d thought he’d spout some nonsense about how Derek could handle himself and they had more important things to worry about. And not just the vampires but the state of the pack. He had taken on board everything Natalie had said and instead of sulking about it, he was stepping up. Although he had spent all of last night sulking and had volunteered to sleep on the sofa, probably thinking he was pre-empting her kicking him out of their bed like she had been doing. 

‘I went round his house yesterday but he wasn’t there. His scent was off.’ Malia began. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong and she was done not listening to her instincts. ‘I went back today and smelt him, Jackson, Ethan, Cora and Stiles. I didn’t know Cora was back, and Peter said he needed to check how Derek was doing. Something’s not right and I’m worried.’

‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’ Scott began down the phone in that tone that Malia was beginning to hate.

‘Don’t you dare Scott McCall!’ Malia snarled down the phone. He’d used that tone, the one he used that had always got her to acquiesce to whatever he wanted. The one that made her feel like an idiot in the first place. ‘I am so fed up with you dismissing my instincts. You did it with Stiles and look where that got us!’

‘Okay, okay. I’m sorry.’ Scott sounded as if he was backpedalling, trying to reassure her because she’d thrown a tantrum. If that was the case then they were over. ‘Is there a scent trail you can follow?’

It took her a moment to unclench her jaw. She didn’t know how she felt apart from angry at the moment. ‘Yes.’

‘Okay. I’m on my way. We’ll follow the trail together.’

To hell with that. She was too angry to wait for him. Why could he not have supported her from the start? Had he always dismissed her so easily? Had she let him? What had happened to her? She had always listened to her instincts and had never cared what others thought of her. She remembered how Stiles had always loved that about her and how proud it had made her feel. When had that stopped? ‘I’m not waiting. You can follow if you want to, but I don’t think you’re their favourite person right now.’

‘I’m no one's favourite person right now.’ Scott mumbled and she wasn’t sure if he’d meant to say that or not. ‘But we don’t know what’s going on. If Jackson and Ethan have returned, and Cora’s turned up, all without informing me, there could be something dangerous that we don’t know about yet.’

‘You’re right.’ Malia nodded down the phone. He did have a point but she doubted that there was something more dangerous than the vampires in Beacon Hills at the moment. ‘I should have called Liam or Stacey.’

She hung up before Scott could say anything more. It was mean of her, but damn did it feel good. She felt as if she was rediscovering herself, becoming who she once was again. Hanging up the phone had never felt so liberating.

  
  
  


‘Really Cora.’ Peter said, casually leaning against a tree. ‘You couldn’t find the time to call and tell me Derek wasn't feral anymore?’

Stiles blinked and subtly pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. But Peter was still stood there, leaning casually against a tree, in his trademark V-necks and smirk.

‘Really Peter.’ Cora deadpanned back. ‘You couldn’t feel him come back through the pack bonds.’

Pack bonds? Peter was in Cora’s pack? Well that was interesting. Last Stiles had heard he had still been pack adjacent to Scott’s pack and he himself had been trying to bridge the ocean sized distance between Malia and her father. Malia had not been keen.

‘Well, at least turning back to himself gave him the guts to go and get the guy.’ Peter winked at Stiles as he sauntered over.

‘Hey!’ Stiles exclaimed, glaring at Peter as Derek rolled his eyes. Derek had plenty of guts which Stiles knew Peter was fully aware of, especially if he was pack, but he wouldn’t stand by and allow inaccuracies to be bandied about. ‘I went and got him thank you very much!’

‘Really.’ Peter grinned before tsking at Derek but it all looked to be in good nature. It was a change to the Peter that Stiles had known; it was more of the Peter that Stiles had first glimpsed of when the ghost riders had them. ‘Derek, maybe you play the damsel in distress a little too well.’

‘Shut up Peter.’ Derek snorted before pulling his uncle into a hug.

Stiles felt his jaw drop. He side eyed Lydia who was looking as shocked as he felt. When the hell had this happened? He knew that being pack would have brought them together, but there had never been any of this before. Not even a hint of this closeness or bond between them.

‘But you make it too easy.’ Peter grinned, casually scent marking him.

Lydia sniffed disdainfully, recovering a lot quicker than Stiles was. ‘What has the world come to, when Peter is the good guy?’

‘Why my dear darling Lydia. You wound me. I would never be a good guy.’ Peter winked at her, before he sidled over to his niece.

‘Please play nice Peter.’ Cora asked, sounding resigned but smiling at him as she leant into him.

He kissed the top of her head, allowing her to scent mark him with an easy smile before gently rubbing a hand over Ethan’s and Jackson’s shoulders and happily allowed them to scent mark him back.

Stiles blinked again. It was clear they were a pack and a close knit one. But never would he ever have imagined Peter having mellowed out this much. Although as he watched him, he wondered if mellowed was the right word. He still had that confident smirk and that knowing gaze that had always driven Stiles nuts, but there was more. He seemed at peace with himself now, and was clearly accepted by his pack. Was that all that he had needed? Stiles could feel his insatiable curiosity rising and had to bite his lip to stop his thousands upon thousands of questions from flowing freely from his mouth. Now was not the time.

Peter winked at him. ‘I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other and you’ll have plenty of time to interrogate me later.’

Stiles arched an eyebrow but couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. ‘And it will be an interrogation. Starting with how on earth has your dress sense not changed? Seriously? Still with the V-necks? Do you ever get laid?’

Peter barked a laugh. ‘Oh trust me, my dear boy, I do not lack for company of any kind.’

‘I walked into that one.’ Stiles admitted, pulling an uneasy face and he rubbed his stomach.

‘So what are we doing out in the woods with company?’ Peter changed the subject and nodded towards Ava.

‘Looking for the nemeton.’ Jackson supplied, seemingly perfectly at ease as he leant into Peter’s side.

‘Oh god. What’s happened now?’ Peter groaned, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

‘Vampires.’ Ava supplied, with a grin.

‘Vampires?’ Peter frowned, blinking at her. ‘In California? Are they lost?’

‘Nope.’ Stiles raised an eyebrow. ‘They’re following a seer.’

Peter stared at him. He tilted his head sideways, looking surprised. ‘A seer. They still exist. Okay. And why has a seer brought vampires to Beacon Hills?’

Stiles looked at Peter thoughtfully. He’d accepted that rather easily and while he’d been surprised that there was still a seer in existence, he hadn’t had any snarky response and knew more about vampires than Stiles had expected. Had Peter actually changed? Or had he just managed to fool Derek once again? But it wasn’t just Derek, it was his entire pack, Cora, Jackson, Ethan and whoever was in it that Stiles hadn’t met yet. Could Peter really fool all of them when they would be well aware of what he was like?

‘We think the seer wants the nemeton.’ Cora explained while Stiles thought. 

He would trust Derek. Derek obviously trusted Peter and Stiles would trust in the man he loved. But he would still keep an eye on him. As always, Peter knew too much about the situation than Stiles was happy with. It was high school all over again.

Peter sighed. ‘I’m really beginning to hate that thing.’

‘Oh, don’t judge just yet.’ Ava smiled. ‘The nemeton may just surprise you.’

  
  
  
  


Stacey frowned as she sniffed the air. She waited until the truck she had heard and recognised pulled up near her.

Liam and Natalie emerged.

‘Malia call you?’

‘Yeah. You two?’

Stacey sighed. ‘You get more from her than “something’s weird going on and I’m following it to the preserve”?’

‘Only that she’s still pissed with Scott.’

‘She can join the club.’ Natalie muttered.

‘That’s gotta be a new record.’

‘What has?’ Liam asked. 

‘Getting that pissed off with Scott within your first week of joining the pack.’ Stacey smiled to lessen the harshness of her words. ‘I honestly thought Liam would leave to be with you.’

‘Yeah, I’m beginning to think that would have been a better plan.’ Liam muttered but Stacey could tell that he didn’t really think that. She knew Liam would never leave Scott’s pack. Not without Corey and Mason. And even then, it would take a hell of a lot to push him over the edge and into leaving.

Natalie sighed. ‘I knew from some of the things that Liam had already let slip that it was going to be an uphill battle, but it still took me by surprise.’

‘So other packs aren’t like this?’ Stacey asked, for some reason she really wasn’t surprised.

Liam shrugged.

‘I was feral before I joined this pack and never been a part of another one.’ Malia said, emerging from the woods. ‘I followed Derek’s scent to Stiles’ and then here. Something weird is going on, their scents are worried. And I don’t understand why they would all be together.’

‘Whose together?’ Natalie asked.

‘Derek, Cora, Jackson, Ethan, Isaac, Kira, Lydia, Jordan, Stiles and Ava.’

‘Cora’s here?’ Liam frowned.

‘Whose Cora?’ Natalie frowned, annoyance tinting her scent.

‘Derek’s sister.’

‘I thought Jackson and Ethan had left?’ Malia added.

Stacey shrugged. ‘I saw Jackson in town the other day.’

‘Did he say why he’d returned?’

Stacey shook her head, tensing. She hadn’t decided whether or not to tell anyone about her plans.

‘What? Malia turned to her, staring at her intently.

Stacey winced. She took a deep breath. ‘I asked Jackson about other packs.’

‘What about other packs?’ Malia asked.

Stacey smiled sadly. She would miss Malia’s bluntness and how she completely missed social cues.

‘You’re leaving the pack?’ Liam asked in a strangled voice.

Stacey hid her grimace at the betrayal he was emitting. She took a deep breath. ‘I’m considering my options, but yeah. I’m not happy here.’

Malia snorted. ‘Any idiot can see you’re not happy here.’

Stacey nodded. ‘And I haven’t been happy for a long time.’

‘I thought you were settling into everything; you’ve accepted your wolf.’ Liam shrugged. ‘I don’t understand?’

‘I’m sorry Liam, I really am. But I was a doctor, I loved working in the ER and now I’m a coroner. I cut up dead people to make a living and am at Scott every beck and call.’ Stacey sighed. ‘I don’t resent him for saving my life, I resent feeling like the only adult.’

Liam frowned. ‘We’re all adults.’

‘You are.’ Stacey agreed, feeling as if she was already making a mess out of her explanation. She hadn’t prepared anything and didn’t know how to get across how she was feeling. ‘But I’m older than all of you. Most of you met or have known each other since high school. Even Joanna, Terry and Ben are around your age. I feel like a parent with no authority.’

‘Oh. Shit.’ Liam sighed and rubbed his eyes. ‘I’m sorry Stacey.’

‘Same here.’ Malia half smiled at her but Stacey could smell her worry and self-blame.

‘It’s not your fault, none of you. But I can’t help the way I feel.’

‘Where will you go?’

Stacey shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I didn’t know there was anywhere else I could go, but Jackson seemed to think I had options.’

‘You do.’ Natalie told her sincerely. ‘A lot of options. You said you were an ER doctor? A lot of packs would kill to have someone like you. You need to be careful and choose wisely.’

Stacey nodded, feeling her throat suddenly go dry. ‘Jackson did tell me to trial a pack before committing.’

‘Good. It sounds as if he’s looking out for you.’ Natalie smiled.

Stacey let out a relieved breath. ‘Packs would really kill over having me?’

Natalie nodded. ‘Those skills are transferable. You could easily be a supernatural doctor and that is an asset that a lot of dangerous packs need.’

She swallowed. ‘I’ll be careful.’

‘Does anyone else know?’ Natalie asked.

Stacey shook her head. ‘I only spoke to Jackson and handed in my notice at the morgue yesterday. He hasn’t gotten back to me yet but said he would with a list of packs that he trusted.’

‘That’s good, if you want me to, I can go over the list as well, but just a heads up.’ Natalie said in an apologetic tone, wincing at Stacey. ‘I called the rest of the pack in.’

‘What? Why?’ Malia demanded glaring at the emissary.

Natalie sighed. ‘Because we need to learn to work as a cohesive unit. As a pack.’

‘We don’t even know anything’s wrong.’ Malia held her glare but Stacey was with Natalie on this one. Malia had good instincts and they had no idea what they might be up against. It was wise to have the whole pack here, at least, the ones who could fight anyway.

Natalie sighed. ‘Malia, you are a born coyote and spent your informative years in the wild. Out of everyone’s instincts, I trust yours the most.’

‘What?’ Malia instantly lost her glare, her scent turning from angry to confused in a second.

This was why Stacey wanted to leave. The fact that Scott had caused his own girlfriend to doubt herself screamed everything.

  
  
  
  
  



	23. Chapter 23

  
  


‘Do you think it’s actually something? Or Malia just being worried?’ Mason fretted, chewing at his fingernails.

Corey placed his hand over Mason’s, smiling at Mason’s self-deprecating look. Corey didn’t mind Mason chewing at his fingernails but he knew how much Mason hated it. ‘When has Malia ever just been worried?’

‘That’s what’s worrying me.’ Mason admitted, flipping his hand around and intertwining their fingers. 

Malia was not a worrier, and while her instincts were usually spot on, she wasn’t very forthcoming with what they were based on. She was always spot on with her scents, but telling them that something was off was a common occurrence, or at least it used to be. It didn’t help that when they tried to pry out of her what was off, she then dismissed it.

Corey now knew that they hadn’t helped by allowing her. Nor had they by letting Scott dismiss her instincts in front of the others. Not that he’d ever outright dismissed her, but a roll of the eyes spoke volumes too. Corey couldn’t even remember when Malia had stopped mentioning when she felt things were off, but it had been awhile.

‘Me too.’ Corey sighed. ‘Scott’s dismissed a lot of her feelings over the past few years but she’s always been proven right.’

Even when her instincts had been telling her a storm was coming, she’d been right. Just like she had been when someone new had moved to the area and she’d said he just felt off. He was human so Scott had left him be. Turned out he was killing the local pets. Or when she’d said one of the clients at the vets felt off and she was actually a fae on the run from an abusive spouse. They’d gotten off to a bad start and even though Scott had agreed she could stay as long as it wouldn’t start a war with any other fae, she had still left pretty promptly.

‘Her feelings or her instincts?’

Corey nodded. What was worse was that Scott had never even realised that Malia’s instincts were correct in the first place. ‘He is trying though isn’t he?’

‘Who?’ Mason blinked at him, and Corey realised he hadn’t said any of that out loud. ‘Oh, you mean Scott?’

He nodded, smiling at his husband. His husband who could follow his train of thought without him even voicing it. ‘I think he took on board what Natalie was saying.’

‘I do too. And Natalie said she’d look into why he couldn’t feel any pack bonds.’

‘That’s weird isn’t it?’ Corey asked. He desperately wanted to know more about these pack bonds. Mason had brought him his iPad and some books and he’d been researching it when he could, but they all said the same thing. Pack bonds were a given in every pack and felt by every supernatural creature in that pack. 

Mason raised an eyebrow. ‘Pack bonds being a thing or Scott not feeling them?’

Corey pulled a face. ‘Either. Both.’

He was still coming to terms with pack bonds. That they existed and that they all should be feeling them to some degree. Even the humans. How had they all been missing them? Or did they just not have them? Was there something wrong with them? Were they not a real pack? Did it matter that they didn’t have them? What did they mean? What do they do?

Mason nodded. ‘We’ve been a pack for over ten years, how did none of us know pack bonds existed?’

‘That's the question isn’t it?’ Corey asked, desperately trying to keep his questions to himself. They had enough to worry about at the moment. Let Natalie figure out why Scott couldn’t, then they could worry about what it meant. Maybe that was why they couldn’t, because Scott couldn’t. But the books didn’t have any information on a pack with no bonds and there was nothing he could find out about why they couldn’t feel them.

Mason sat back but he kept hold of his hand. ‘This was everyone’s first pack. With the exception of Theo, but I don’t know if his actually counts.’

Corey shook his head. ‘I don’t think it does.’ He winced. ‘The dread doctors, what Theo had, I don’t think that was a true pack.’

‘Neither do I.’ Mason agreed. ‘So this pack was everyone’s first pack. No one had ever experienced pack bonds before. Could it be something we just don’t recognise?’

Corey shrugged. ‘I feel my bond to you.’

‘Same. But I don’t feel a bond to the others. Except Liam but I always thought that’s because he’s my best friend.’ Mason shrugged.

Corey frowned. ‘I can feel something to Liam, but again, I don’t know if it’s a pack bond or friendship.’

Mason groaned. ‘That’s the problem with being human, we can’t feel them, not really, not like the wolves can.’

‘Speak for yourself.’ Corey winked at Mason before promptly turning himself invisible.

Mason chuckled and leant forward.

Corey turned visible as he met Mason and kissed him before lying back down. ‘But we should really feel something to everyone else in the pack.’

‘The only thing I feel for Theo is disdain and dislike.’ Mason muttered.

‘Same here, but what about Malia? Stacey? Natalie now that she’s pack?’

Mason winced. ‘I have a stronger bond with your doctors than I do with some of the pack.’

Corey frowned as the door handle twisted and both their heads swivelled towards the door.

‘Knock knock, look who’s here to see you!’ Mason’s brother grinned as he glanced down to the little girl whose hand he was desperately trying to keep hold of as she bounced into the room.

‘Daddies!’ Amanda screamed as she saw them, managing to slip her hand free as she ran towards them.

‘Oh my little munchkin!’ Mason swept her up and covered her face with noisy kisses. ‘Now, remember our agreement with papa? You need to be careful when I put you on the bed.’

‘I’ll be careful daddy I promise.’

‘I know sweetheart.’ Mason kissed her forehead one more time before he placed their daughter on Corey’s bed.

Corey held out his arms as she crawled over his body, not caring of where she placed her knees before she got to his face and pushed her head into his neck. ‘I missed you papa.’

‘I missed you two munchkin.’ Corey whispered, he could feel tears at his eyes and quickly blinked them away. ‘Now, have you been a good girl for your uncle?’

  
  
  
  


Ava winced. ‘I have a bad feeling we’re about to have company.’

Stiles frowned at her. This was when he would love to have werewolf senses, instead he sent his spark out into the forest searching out what was there.

‘The vampires?’ Jackson paled.

‘I’ve never fought a vampire but I’m always up for a challenge.’ Peter smirked, winking at Jackson.

Stiles wasn’t surprised when Jackson sneered back at him even though it was clear there was no longer any antagonism towards him. Although it did make him wonder if Peter was the reason why Jackson had held back from telling Lydia. 

Even he wasn’t sure how she would react, and he doubted her nonchalant attitude would last too much longer once they’d dealt with the current situation. Although his Goddess always did live to surprise him. And while him and Peter hadn’t exactly been friends when Stiles had left all those years ago, they hadn’t been antagonistic to each other, not in a hateful way anyway, but they had been pack. And to Stiles that had always meant something.

‘No. Worse.’ Ava interrupted them, turning to Stiles with a worried look.

Stiles sighed. He didn’t need his spark to sense those approaching to recognise that look on her. ‘Scott.’

Derek crowded against him and Stiles lent into him. He had really been hoping that Scott didn’t find out about their little excursion today. He wasn’t surprised that he had, but he did wonder how he had found out.

‘Werewolves at least.’ Ava allowed. ‘And about the same number that are left in his pack, but they’re in two groups.’

‘Left?’ Peter cleared his throat. ‘Is there something I’m missing?’

Stiles frowned, Peter didn’t know this? He didn’t know what had been happening in Beacon Hills? Why not? Why hadn’t Derek at least been keeping him informed? They were pack after all. He felt Derek squeeze his hand and glanced at him to see him silently shaking his head.

Derek mouthed the word “travelling” and Stiles nodded. He supposed that kind of made sense. Maybe.

‘The vampires toyed with Scott one night. Killed two werewolves, almost killed another werewolf and a human and injured another two wolves.’ Lydia supplied calmly. Maybe Lydia really had forgiven Peter for everything. Stiles wouldn’t put it past her, but he knew her better than to ever expect her to have forgotten it.

‘Corey’s not technically human seeing as he can turn invisible.’ Kira pointed out.

‘Which didn’t help him against vampires.’ Isaac frowned.

‘So what you’re telling me is Scott McCall got his arse handed to him?’ Peter asked and Stiles was positive that this was the first genuine smile he had ever seen on Peter. ‘Are we sure they’re evil?’

‘Don’t worry Peter.’ Stiles grinned at him. ‘Your daughter wasn’t one of the injured.’

‘Of course she wasn’t. She’d have told me if she was.’ Peter grinned back.

‘Oh really?’ Stiles asked, interested. This was certainly new, but then it had been almost a decade. Still he was pleased that Malia had finally taken his advice, as long as Peter wasn’t actually evil.

His gut was telling him he wasn’t, just like it had been his gut telling him to be wary of Peter when he was a teenager. He’d learnt to listen to it. It also meant, as long as he was right, that Peter hadn’t deceived his family and pack. Although Stiles did wonder how long they had been a pack for, and how long Peter had been part of it.

‘Yes and I believe I have you to thank that.’ Peter smirked at him and held out his arms. ‘Appreciative hug?’

Derek growled low in his throat causing Peter to laugh again and lower his arms.

‘Still uncle creepy. Good to know some things haven’t changed.’ Stiles sidled closer to Derek, allowing him to scent mark him. He wasn’t worried about Peter, but he knew it would help calm Derek and it might even confuse Peter’s instincts and mark him as pack. Especially if they ended up in a fight. He just hoped that Peter being on good terms with Malia, meant that he was also on good terms with Scott seeing as they were about to come face to face, but somehow Stiles doubted it.

‘Why fix what isn’t broken?’ Peter winked at him.

‘Oh Peter. It’s slightly concerning that you think that.’ Stiles shook his head but couldn’t help his smile. It was actually reassuring that Peter was still the same smug bastard he had always been, if he hadn’t then Stiles would have been positive he was possessed or at least definitely evil.

  
  
  
  
  


Deaton hummed as he checked over the ingredients again. There were a couple that he still needed but he had already put out feelers to his contacts. He knew they would have them for him in a couple of days and without his name being mentioned.

He cleaned off his electronic scales and set to measuring out the ingredients that he did have and set them in their appropriate containers. It was a lot more work than it sounded, everything had to be kept just so, a plastic container could taint certain herbs but others needed the humidity and moisture one could provide if set in the right place. Others needed glass and others needed paper or cardboard. Some needed paper and also humidity. It could also vary on what they needed depending on the spell. It was very specific and each one also had to be measured just right. He doubted Scott with bother with accurate measurements which at best would make them null and void or at worst would cause bodily harm.

He made a few adjustments to the paper he had to the side. It had detailed instructions that anyone new to the craft could follow. But he had to keep reminding himself that Scott wasn’t new to the craft and could easily misread something. He also needed to add in everything step by step. Whereas most would know to steep the solanum mammosum seeds for twenty fours hours beforehand, Scott would not, and it may seem insulting to include how slowly to add the epazote leaf, hovering each piece over the bowl to allow it to acclimate, but Scott could easily just dump the whole lot in and cause an explosion.

He paused and sighed before staring out his kitchen window at the beautiful day out there. He had never thought he would be here, giving Scott the recipe to reverse his alpha spark. To dull it down until it extinguished. But then he never thought he would see the day when he wasn’t Talia’s emissary. He had never, in his worst nightmares, thought he would outlive her.

He swallowed and gripped the counter when he noticed his hand was shaking. It was torture not remembering the exact pitch of her laugh. He could remember how she laughed, wholeheartedly with her head thrown back. He could still picture that, could still remember what she looked like in vivid detail. But the sound of her laugh had gone and the sound of her voice was fading.

He still had pictures of her, ones where she wasn’t looking at the camera and had avoided the eye flare, he had no worries that he would ever forget what she looked like. But he had no recording to help him with how she sounded. Had never thought he’d need them.

The past twenty or so years had been the worst of his life. He no longer had any inclination to stay in the supernatural world. Without Talia, he couldn’t quite see the point. 

He had at first believed he’d been given a second chance with Scott, but, well, he had been so very wrong. He only had himself to blame and he did blame himself. He had treated Talia’s children abysmally and he would never be able to forgive himself for that. He prayed that Talia had moved on in the afterlife and hadn’t seen how he had treated her children. He knew he would never be able to handle her censure and condemnation. He had no excuses for what he had done except for being grief stricken. And that was not something Talia would accept, not when it involved her children.

He had become a self imposed recluse in the supernatural world, only he could no longer tell if that was a punishment or a reprieve. He preferred the quiet life. He preferred it even more when he didn’t hear from anymore.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Peter? What are you doing here?’ Malia asked bluntly as she stared at him.

Peter glanced at her and smiled. He knew there was something wrong, he had no idea why they had suddenly formed a bond with each other when they hadn’t in the intervening years. They hadn’t suddenly sprung closer to each other, they’d been at this stage for a while now. So he couldn’t understand why she had formed a bond with him over some murderous tendencies she hadn’t yet had time to explain. ‘Why my dear daughter. Twice in one day, I am honoured.’

She rolled her eyes but he could see the smile pulling at her lips. Sometimes he still found it hard to believe the relationship he had with her. It was better than even he had expected or ever dreamed. He had never thought she would ever forgive him for what he had done, he’d had a hard time forgiving himself for Laura. And had been surprised the most when it had been Cora who had pulled him through that. Just like she had pulled Derek through. The women in his family were indeed incredible.

‘Where’s Derek?’ Malia continued, sniffing the air and seeking him out. He eyed the three with her, he recognised Liam who seemed to hold no ill will towards him, which was surprising, but not so much when he realised the woman holding his hand was Natalie. The witch he had almost persuaded to join McCall’s pack to look out for his daughter.

It seemed she had finally joined the McCall pack after she had immediately baulked upon finding out he had joined another pack. He had been impressed by her instincts and outright surprised when she had hesitated due to Scott’s treatment of him. Not that he had ever let anyone see him be surprised. Well, anyone outside of his pack at least.

But the female werewolf was new to him and for some reason, interested him. She was beautiful, older than Scott, older than Derek, and looked a lot more confident. She held herself easily but he could see she was alert. Her hazel eyes were intelligent and her short blond bob suited her. He put her at younger than him but not by too many years.

‘Here, what’s wrong?’ Derek asked, stepping forward with Stiles unsurprisingly, right behind him. It seemed Derek's unrequited love wasn't quite so unrequited. Which Peter could have told him years ago. However years ago, while being in a better place than he had once been, Peter still hadn’t been in a good place or had properly forgiven Derek. 

Peter knew Malia and Derek held no ill will to each other and got on rather well, but it was still a shame that they didn’t meet up half as much as he liked. He fully and wholeheartedly put the blame all onto McCall. He had no idea what his daughter saw in that idiot. But he knew better than to try to tell her what to do. No matter how tempting. Truthfully he’d been waiting for Scott to tell her she couldn’t see him just to see how she’d react. But she either hadn’t reacted or Scott hadn’t done anything.

Malia frowned and Peter stepped closer, instantly worried. ‘I don’t know. Something is wrong and I don’t know what.’ She sighed and he could smell her frustration and anger. She was very very angry. ‘I thought it was you. I went to your house and smelt everyone but something was wrong.’

Derek frowned and approached her. Peter watched as he nudged her. ‘Wrong in what way? My scent? Another scent? A feeling? An instinct?’

He hadn’t seen these two interact in almost a decade and it was interesting to see just how well Derek still knew Malia. He didn’t coddle her, he reassured her and asked her questions so she could follow them through and tell them what was wrong. 

It was also interesting and surprised Peter by the warm glow it gave him, to see Derek using his words to someone who wasn’t pack. Although it seemed that she didn’t know about his little stint being feral. But it just showed how far Derek had come. 

Peter had a hard enough time admitting he’d been wrong and flat out refused to analyse to himself for self betterment. Derek’s therapist may have been correct in that it helped Derek, but luckily Cora knew him well enough to not even bother suggesting it to him. And Peter was more than happy to ignore the fact that both Derek and Cora had researched ways to help him, no matter if they had worked or not.

‘Urgh. I don’t know.’ Malia snarled but not at Derek. She was leaning into him and holding onto his arm. ‘Initially it was your scent, but it’s not anymore, or anyone else’s. It’s more than just a feeling. I think it’s instinct. Just something is wrong and I don’t know what.’

‘Do you know where?’ Ava suddenly asked.

Malia blinked at her. So did Peter. How on earth would Malia know that if she didn’t know what it was? 

‘Where?’

Ava nodded. ‘When you think of that wrongness, does an area go with it?’

Malia’s mouth opened slightly. ‘Yeah. Here. The preserve. I followed Derek’s scent here and the further we go, the more wrong it feels.’

‘Instinct. You are very in tune with the land and yourself. It’ll be that same instinct that has the inhabitants of the preserve fleeing.’ Ava smiled at her and Peter felt a warm glow at her praise of his daughter.

‘How do you know about the fleeing inhabitants?’ He asked her with narrowed eyes. 

He had only told Cora that, but if Cora had shared the information then she must trust this woman a lot. All he knew about her was that everyone had initially thought she was dating Stiles then it turned out they were just very good friends and she was completely in the know, not only about the supernatural but about everything concerning Stiles’ history.

She grinned back at him, her eyes teasing. ‘Instinct.’

He leaned over to her, knowing and relishing how rude it was and sniffed. 

He hid his surprise when she just laughed at him. ‘As many free guesses as you like but I will neither confirm nor deny.’

He grinned ruefully at her. ‘I like you. No wonder you’re friends with Stiles.’

‘Yeah, she’s pretty great.’ Stiles agreed. 

Under all the worry that everyone was exhibiting, Peter could easily smell Stiles affection and contentment. He blinked when he realised he had never smelt that coming from Stiles before. Not even when he’d been dating Malia.

‘There you guys are!’ Peter heard another voice call. 

One that he remembered very well. He stared at Stiles when his scent soured at Scott’s voice. Was Stiles still harbouring a grudge over being kicked out nine years ago? His gaze shot over to his daughter when he realised that Stiles’ wasn’t the only scent that had soured at Scott’s voice. It seemed there was trouble in paradise.

‘Scott. What a pleasure.’ Ava drawled making it obvious it was anything but as Scott appeared with what must have been the remains of his pack. 

The only two Peter recognised were Theo and Joanna. The other two must have been new. Well, newish. It had been a while since Peter had last been in Beacon Hills and even then he hadn’t sought out Scott’s pack. He had only been here to see his daughter. His daughter who was harbouring some intense dislike for the man she loved. Maybe this was his chance to convince Malia to get rid of him for good.

Scott flushed.

Well now. Beacon Hills just got a whole lot more interesting. 

And Peter wasn’t stupid enough to realise he was missing a whole chunk of information. Information that he would wheedle out of them one way or the other. 

Knowledge was power after all.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Do you think the vampires will find out they’re out there?’ Danny asked anxiously. He didn’t know what to do but for the life of him he couldn’t keep still. He wondered if this was how Stiles always felt having ADHD. No wonder he had driven so many people mad, Danny was driving himself insane.

‘I honestly don’t know.’ Noah sighed, wiping a hand down his face. ‘But I pray that they don’t.’

Danny nodded. ‘In our research, Ava said vampires are more attuned with the supernatural, which is why the seer wanted them. To find this nemeton. What if that means that they can sense them out in the preserve.’

‘Then be thankful that Ava is with them and is all but indestructible.’

‘Shit.’ Danny stood up and grabbed his laptop. He needed something to distract him.

‘Right, here’s some nacho’s. I’ll go see what else we have.’ Melissa said, depositing a mountain of a platter of nachos before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

Danny stared at it.

‘She’s stressed. She feeds people when she’s stressed.’

Danny nodded. ‘I can see. What do you do when you’re stressed?’

Noah groaned and glared at his casts. ‘Work. Nothing I can do in this state.’

‘Then you can help me.’ Danny decided. ‘You got a laptop?’

‘Do you even know my son?’ Noah shot back at him.

Danny grinned. ‘Where is it? You can help me research.’

‘Top drawer.’ Noah said nodding towards a Welsh dresser. ‘What are we researching?’

‘Those herbs that Stiles and Ava had me track down.’

Noah blinked at him. ‘What herbs?’

Danny sighed. That was the problem. He’d been trying to find a lost of what those herbs could do or would be used together in, but he coming up empty. The only thing that had yielded a search result was in a different language he hadn’t yet managed to identify. ‘Well that’s the thing. There’s nothing I can find that needs those particular herbs. I think I found one text but it was in some ancient language that I haven’t managed to decipher.’

‘What ancient language?’

‘That's the thing.’ Danny said, allowing his consternation to show. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Okay.’ Noah sounded completely lost. ‘What did they want with these herbs?’

Danny blinked, suddenly a lot more worried than he had been a moment ago. ‘They didn’t tell you? The seer and vampires were after them. I found out where they were being delivered too but it was too late, they’d already gotten them.’

  
  
  
  


Scott took a deep breath as he looked around at everyone. Even without all the glaring and smell of animosity coming from the majority of people here, he’d known this was going to be tough, but he also knew that he couldn’t let things stand as they were. 

His pack needed him to be better, to do better. And he needed his pack to have faith in him and trust him. So far, he had failed at that. ‘Look, I know I’ve screwed up. And I want to make amends, I need to make it right. But at the moment Malia’s worried about something and we’re here to help.’

‘Scott, we appreciate the offer, but there isn’t anything you or your pack can help with.’ Stiles half smiled at him.

Scott appreciated the fact that Stiles ignored the numerous snorts at the first part of his sentence. ‘I know, but I want to help and if I can, in any way, I want to.’

‘We’re going for a walk in the preserve.’ Ava smiled at him.

Scott frowned. She wasn’t lying, her heartbeat had been steady. Unless she had found a way to lie to werewolves. ‘I’m not stupid no matter how much you all think I am. You’re going for a walk in the woods with four of my pack, another pack of werewolves, a hellhound, banshee and kitsune and whatever you and Stiles are. You may not be lying but do you honestly believe that I think that’s all you’re doing?’

Ava grinned and winked at someone but Scott didn’t see who. ‘Worth a try.’

‘What the fuck?!’ Scott closed his eyes as Theo interrupted, he could smell his rising anger and hadn’t thought to prevent him from interrupting. ‘This is our territory, you’re trespassing. We have every right to be here, you don’t!’

‘Theo.’ Scott said warningly. He wanted to flash his eyes at him but remembered what Natalie had said. He shouldn’t do that. It was an abuse of his alpha position and trust. Nor could he single any of them out, he had to treat them all fairly.

‘No. I’ve had enough. We can handle whatever comes at us. We have been for years. Why the fuck should vampires or whatever the hell this is be any different?’ Theo snarled.

‘Because we can’t win against vampires, Theo.’ Scott sighed as he tried reasoning with him. ‘You weren’t at the last fight. They, they were playing with us and we still lost two of our pack.’

‘Would have been more if it hadn’t been for Ava.’ Stacey added helpfully with a respectful nod towards Ava before smirking at Theo.

And there went Scott’s plan of talking Theo down as he snarled back at Stacey. ‘Just because you’re all shit at fighting doesn’t mean I am.’

‘Oh, well then, by all means, take your best shot.’ A voice tinkled from behind them.

Scott felt dread instantly cover his entire body as he realised it was a vampire. He turned and saw that there were actually eight of them. Ava had been wrong about one thing. She’d missed two vampires in her guess of how many there were. 

But one of them smelt different, human. He stared in horror. Ava had only guessed wrong by one it seemed. What was a human doing with seven vampires?

  
  
  
  


‘Okay. So, the roast chicken is on. You’ve got a potato salad, egg salad and an actual salad.’ Melissa eyed Noah. ‘Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your cholesterol. I’ve got a risotto going as well and a selection of cold meats.’

She glared when Noah and Danny just stared at her. ‘They’re going to be hungry when they get back.’ She said defensively, pulling at her fingers.

Both men nodded immediately and she threw her hands up in frustration.

‘Melissa, honey, come and sit with me.’ Noah called, holding his hand out to her. ‘They’re going to be fine. Ava is with them.’

‘What if the vampires find Scott and Malia before they catch up with Ava and Stiles though? God Noah, so much can go wrong.’ She wasn’t just worried about Scott and Malia though, she was worried about them all. 

Stiles was another son to her, no matter what happened between him and Scott, she would always view him as another son, just like Isaac. So the fact that all three of her boys were currently traipsing through the preserve to find the nemeton while simply crossing their fingers that they didn’t come across the vampires, vampires that had already killed so many people and had proven how easily they could take out a werewolf, Melissa knew she had every right to worry. Just like Noah also knew that and was trying his best to calm her fears. Ava was powerful. There was no doubt about that. She had seen how she had healed Stiles, had heard stories about how powerful she was. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t worry about her as well.

‘I know honey, I know.’ She allowed herself to fall into Noah’s lap when he tugged her down. ‘But they’ve faced far worse than this when they were kids.’

Melissa sighed and nodded. Noah was right. She knew he was. But it still didn’t stop her from worrying. It never would. Just like she knew he was worried as well, he was just better at hiding it then her.

She linked their fingers, unsurprised when he squeezed her hand just slightly too tightly. She knew the signs to look out for, and no matter what Noah said, or how calm he sounded, he was just as worried as she was.

  
  
  
  


Stiles stared in astonishment as Theo let out an almighty roar and charged the vampires. He wasn’t surprised when no one else in Scott’s pack made to follow or showed any signs of moving. Nothing he had seen of them showed him that they had come together as an actual pack. They were still the same ragtag group of people forced together by necessity rather than any actual want to be together. And that did not make a pack. It seemed not even time could force them to become like the packs he was now so used to dealing with.

So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when one of the vampires smoothly stepped into Theo’s way at the last second and seemed to wave his arms over Theo’s head while somehow seeming to avoid him.

Theo’s body carried on for a few more steps, his momentum making him crash into the ground neck first with his arms alarmingly still moving while his head remained in the vampire's hands.

The vampire smirked at them as he carelessly tossed Theo’s head away as if it was a sweat wrapper. ‘Next?’

‘Dude.’ Stiles snorted. If the vampire thought that was a show of power, he was severely mistaken. ‘Pretty sure you’ve just done everyone a favour.’

The vampire snarled at him and Stiles grinned back, knowing he was baiting him. ‘Seriously couldn't stand that guy, so thanks.’

‘Stiles!’ Scott hissed, looking around alarmed.

Stiles rolled his eyes. While not much about Scott seemed to have changed, he had at least learned some tact. ‘Did you want me to lie?’

‘I think we have more pressing matters at hand.’ Cora said diplomatically.

Stiles snorted, he was excellent at multitasking thank you very much. He could easily snipe and give out as many verbal hits as he liked to Scott and anyone else while fighting the vampires.

‘Do we have to?’ Peter asked, staring at Stiles as if intrigued. ‘I’m rather enjoying this.’

Stiles grinned, raising an amused eyebrow as he realised that Peter hadn’t learnt about his history. Not yet anyway. He didn’t know if Cora or her pack were respecting Stiles in not telling Peter or simply hadn’t had a chance to tell him. Either way, it wasn’t like Stiles was keeping it a secret. He didn’t mind people knowing, he just had trouble talking about it.

‘Enough of this.’ The woman at the back commanded as she stepped forward, the vampires parting for her to approach them.

‘You must be the seer.’ Stiles looked her up and down before glancing at Ava. ‘What a pity.’

Ava shrugged. ‘Most fail at this one. She’s nothing special.’

‘How dare you!’ The woman snarled.

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘You’ve been around vampires too long. That shit doesn’t scare us.’

‘Kill them all.’ The woman instructed.

Stiles chuckled, deliberately turning his back to her to face Ava. ‘She thinks it that easy? How stupid is she?’

Ava grinned at him. ‘Apparently very.’

‘I’m guessing the human is the seer?’ Jackson asked casually. ‘She clearly wants a fight, we might as well give her one.’

Ethan grinned as his eyes flashed and he snarled, shifting into his beta shift.

The woman huffed loudly. ‘You think we didn’t know you were werewolves? We’ve been running rings around you for weeks.’

Peter shrugged. ‘Well, duh. You’re a seer. You can see how to avoid us. Which makes me wonder why you were so desperate to.’

The Seer snorted derisively. ‘Werewolves. What are a pack of werewolves? Your power is nothing compared to ours.’

‘Oh.’ Stiles smiled in amusement. ‘We aren’t all werewolves.’

‘So you have humans.’ The Seer dismissed. ‘Or are you claiming that you and the banshee are pack too? Even the Kitsune?’

‘We are not pack.’ Lydia narrowed her eyes at the Seer, her tone steady and displeased. ‘But we will defend Beacon Hills.’

The Seer looked her over in interest. ‘The banshee and kitsune will make the fight interesting as well as the hellhound, but you?’ The Seer looked Stiles over. ‘You’re just a spark. That’s nothing to me or the vampires.’

Stiles grinned. ‘Really? You’re a seer, look into my past. See how it changed me.’

The seer actually took a step back and paled slightly at his words. ‘We still outnumber you.’

‘Your making this too easy for them Stiles.’ Ava’s voice was clear, loud and full of amusement. ‘Don’t tell them what you are, make them tell you. Come on Seer, what am I?’

The vampires shifted restlessly as they glanced uneasily at each other. 

The seer glared but held her ground. ‘I can’t see you. I see you here, standing in front of me, but you have no past or future.’

The eldest looking vampire backed up a step. ‘There’s only one thing seers can’t see.’

‘I know. She’s an angel.’ The seer looked grim but her voice smug. ‘But angels can’t harm.’

Someone snorted, it sounded like Jackson. ‘Really? An angel? Is she serious?’

‘Seriously deluded it sounds like.’ Peter replied, his voice laced with amusement.

Ava grinned looking for all intents and purposes delighted. ‘Really? Am I? Because I’ve already killed one of you. Cute little female, thought she was higher up the food chain than she actually was.’

‘You’ll pay for that!’ One of the males snarled.

‘Why are you all just standing there? I said kill them! Move!’ The seer snapped as she threw her hand out towards them.

‘Oh I’m so sorry!’ Ava laughed, sounding anything but. ‘You wanted them to be able to move? Here, how about a wave?’

Ava waved cheerfully with her left hand. Every single vampire winced when their left hands were suddenly jerked into the air in a parody of a wave, mimicking Ava’s movement.

‘I’m not stupid.’ The seer snarled. ‘Just because I can’t see you, does not mean I couldn’t see the gaps.’

‘Ooh, someone’s read Twilight!’ Stiles interrupted with a grin.

The seer glared at him but it turned to a smirk and she pulled a glass ball filled with something brown out of her pocket. ‘And I saw exactly how to stop you.’

‘Ooh, the seer’s got game.’ Stiles taunted, unsurprised when in her rage she threw it at Ava’s feet.

The glass shattered, immediately spewing out smoke that circled Ava, climbing up her body and all around her before slowly dissipated into the air.

Stiles smiled and he heard Ava laugh.

One of the vampires jumped forward and slashed at her but Ava ducked and twirled as she easily evaded him. It looked more like they were dancing instead of fighting, a well choreographed and practised dance. 

It ended seconds later when the vampire stumbled back, a startled expression on his face as he blinked at Ava with what looked to be a slender branch sticking out of his chest. Stiles knew better. It was a beech stake. Both of them had many of them hidden all over their body and throughout their clothing.

‘I’m as old as time itself, what exactly makes you think I don't know how to fight?’ Ava asked, sounding curious and perfectly composed.

Stiles grinned as the vampires snarled and crouched down to attack, able to move now that the seer had taken away Ava’s power.

The werewolves around him roared as they wolfed out.

Kira pulled her sword, her fox lighting up around her.

Jordan burst into flames.

Lydia raised her hands defensively as she prepared to scream.

And while Stiles wasn’t surprised at Derek using his full shift at his right side, he was surprised to see another wolf in full shift to his left side. It was only when the wolf’s eyes flashed red did he realise it was Cora.

  
  
  



	24. Chapter 24

  
  
  
  


Stiles knew that without Ava’s powers this would be a close fight, closer than he liked but nothing they hadn’t experienced before. He’d had Ava explain the null bomb to him in great detail looking for any loopholes.

There hadn’t been any, but he had come across one thing. One thing that the seer may or may not know. It was why he had goaded her into using it while they were all at full strength. The null bomb only lasted for a couple of hours.

So while that meant that they only had to survive against six vampires for a couple of hours, it meant that they had to survive fighting six vampires for a couple of hours.

But Stiles would still have his spark. It worked on belief, and no amount of magical herbs could take away his belief. Jordan was a hellhound, Lydia a banshee and Kira a kitsune. And they were the ones who would be able to hold their own in a fight. The null bomb wouldn’t do anything against them, it was designed to only affect whisper’s. 

Stiles and Ava had warned them about the null bomb while they were walking. The only ones who hadn’t known about it were Peter, who didn’t look phased by it in the slightest, and Scott and his packmates who had turned up fashionably late. And while it was clear they didn’t know what the glass ball had been or did, they were going along with the rest of them and preparing to fight.

So even though he winced, it didn’t take him by surprise when Lydia screamed and it echoed long, loud and clear around them. He wouldn’t be surprised if his father heard it safe and sound in their house miles away.

The werewolves dropped to the ground clutching at their ears. 

The vampires staggered back. 

It was clear a couple of them had come up against a banshee in their past as they stepped away and to the back. One of the front ones coughed and another fell to his knees, blood dripping from his nose.

He snarled and rose up, lunging for Lydia only to collapse in a puff of dust at her feet.

Five vampires. 

They were even. Stiles grinned. He liked these odds. One for each of them but he knew just how greedy he and Ava could be. Even at equal numbers, this would not be a fair fight.

  
  
  
  


‘What are you two doing?’ Melissa asked, pulling him out of his concentration.

Danny looked up at her and blinked, a pen stuck in his mouth. She was staring at them in concern as she wiped her hands on a dishcloth. ‘Hmmm?’

‘Trying to figure out what language this is written in.’ Noah groaned.

‘At first I thought it was a mix of Sumerian and Akkadian from the Mesopotamia region but now I’m wondering if it’s maybe Coptic. Or has Coptic mixed in?’ Danny pulled a face and rubbed his temple. ‘Could it be a mix of all three?’

‘Three dead languages?’ Noah asked, dread clouding his voice.

Danny shook his head. ‘Not dead languages, extinct languages. There’s a difference.’

Noah eyebrows raised. ‘Do I want to know the difference?’

Danny chuckled as he leant back and stretched out his back. He could do with a break, and possibly his glasses. Staring at a computer screen for hours on end was not good for his eyes. He wondered if he’d remembered to pack his eye drops. ‘Dead languages are still spoken. Extinct ones aren’t.’

‘Great.’ Noah groaned. ‘And when did our three languages go extinct?’

Danny paused and reached over to his laptop, checking several tabs. ‘Akkadian about one hundred CE. Sumerian second millennium BCE and Coptic technically went extinct in the seventeenth century but is still used for learning.’ He rubbed his hand over his face, checking what he’d found out about Coptic. ‘I don’t think Coptic is old enough, and the region isn’t right. Maybe it’s Meriotic?’

‘Huh?’ Noah looked at him bewildered. Danny knew he’d lost him, but he quickly opened another tab to check and see if Meriotic might fit.

‘Sumerian was already extinct by then and Akkadian went extinct as Coptic became a language.’ Danny glared at his laptop. This type of research was not his forte. This was more Stiles or Lydia’s expertise. Not his. But he couldn’t go to them for obvious reasons.

‘Second millennium BCE?’ Noah repeated.

Melissa stared at them both. ‘Coffee then?’

Danny nodded, he could do with all the help he could get.

  
  
  
  


Lydia glanced at Jordan. She was feeling invigorated from that scream and she didn’t know why. Something in her, the banshee side of her, was revelling in the fight, the scream seemed to have been more a call to arms than a death omen. To her at least anyway. To the vampire that had turned to dust, it had definitely been a death omen.

She hadn’t had the same reaction she did when she screamed for other people's death, she wondered if it was because she was trying to kill them or because they were vampires and therefore technically already dead. Ava might know, and if not, she enjoyed researching things, especially if they were connected to her banshee side.

It was rare to find other banshee’s, but Ava had put her in contact with a couple. She just wasn’t sure if they had ever had anything to do with vampires. Although one of their ancestors would have at least. The laws of probability were in her favour.

Jordan sent her a smile as he strode forward confidently. She’d wanted to hold his hand, but, well, he was covered in flames. She was assuming that was why Ava said he would be better in a fight against a vampire than a werewolf would be. But if a vampire got through his flames, then what would happen? He was impervious to fire, not injury.

Lydia knew he could hold his own in a fight, he was a deputy, or at least acting sheriff soon to be sheriff if what Stiles had told her was anything to go by. Jordan had been in the army. He knew how to fight. But this was a fight against vampires, with super speed and super strength that not even a werewolf could match. How they hell were either of them meant to hold their own in a fight?

All she had was a scream and all Jordan had were flames.

Her hackles raised suddenly, she could feel the thin delicate hairs on her arm stand to attention. She turned round, her hands already raised as a scream she hadn’t prepared tore from her throat. It wasn’t as powerful as her first one, but her hands manipulated the energy it had caused to send the female vampire that had dared approach her boyfriend flying back.

‘I had that.’ Jordan sighed, sending her a look.

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow and sniffed. ‘Well, you were taking your time.’

He winked at her before turning and running towards Jackson, Ethan and Isaac who seemed to be helping Stacey and Malia in trying to avoid being maimed by one of the vampires.

Cora, Derek and surprisingly Peter, were snapping and lunging at the one that Stiles looked to be playing with. Ava seemed to be conversing with the seer while dancing with another one.

Liam, Natalie, Scott and the rest of his pack were fighting the last one. Natalie seemed to be the only reason they weren’t all dead already but Kira was already on her way over, her sword raised and her fox shining brightly all around her.

Lydia sighed and went after the one she’d just sent flying into the trees. If Ava said she could hold her own and fight a vampire, then she could damn well hold her own, fight a vampire and win. And look gorgeous while doing so. 

Thank God she’d booked her manicure for tomorrow and not today.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Okay.’ Danny frowned as the pen in his mouth got in his way. When had he put a pen in his mouth? ‘I think I’ve got it.’

‘Oh God I hope so son, because I don’t have a clue.’ Noah sighed.

‘Me neither.’ Melissa agreed from her seat right next to him. ‘Whatever language I use, I can’t make heads or tails of this.’

‘Well, it’s just the title, but if I use the first word from Akkadian, I’m unsure about the second word and third word and the fourth word from Meriotic, then it reads inhibit something something fallen.’

Melissa blinked at him.

Noah frowned. ‘It’s a recipe to stop something from falling?’

Danny winced and shrugged. ‘I think the second word is actually part of the first and the third is possibly Akkadian again and it reads “To Inhibit the Fallen”.’

‘To inhibit the fallen?’

‘Stop the fallen?’ Danny asked, frowning at his laptop.

‘Stop the fallen from doing what?’ Noah scrunched his face up before he paled. ‘Zombies had better not be real.’

The pen dropped out of his mouth. ‘You think this seer is raising the dead?!’

Noah groaned. ‘You’re the one who translated the title.’

‘Shit.’ Danny stared black at his laptop.

‘Hang on a minute.’ Melissa sighed. ‘Danny, have you translated any more of it?’

‘No.’ He shook his head.

‘Well, how about we do that before we jump to any conclusions.’ She stood up. ‘I’ll put some more coffee on.’

‘Thanks Mrs McCall.’ Danny said as he retrieved his pen.

‘Gimme a paragraph and I’ll see what I can do.’ Noah said, making a grabby hand with his one free hand.

Danny nodded and fired over a paragraph to his laptop. ‘It’ll be popping up in a sec.’

‘Got it.’ Noah said grimly, staring intently at his screen. ‘I doubt it’s anything like raising the dead. Stiles and Ava would have at least warned us if that was a possibility.’

‘But you’re still worried?’ Danny glanced at him.

Noah nodded. ‘Yeah, I know those two, and I know when they don’t want to worry me.’

‘And they didn’t want to worry you about something?’ Danny asked, a heavy feeling settling in his stomach.

Noah smiled grimly. ‘And they didn’t want to worry me about something.’

Danny cleared his throat, remembering all the secrets Stiles had kept from his father back in high school. ‘If it was zombies would they have told you?’

‘If it was anything big, they would have told me. They both know better.’ Noah’s voice was final, as if they’d been through this before. 

Danny could easily believe they had. He’d gotten the impression that Stiles was a protector, and his dad was obviously someone that Stiles would try his hardest to protect. And Stiles had spent in his teenage years withholding information to protect others.

‘So, it’s something they weren’t concerned about, but that you would be?’ Danny concluded.

Noah snorted. ‘Got it in one.’

  
  
  
  


‘How are these things so Goddamn fast!’ Jackson snarled, anger cursing through him. He had his tail out which he hated doing. He hated the looks and stares he got from it. Unless they were from Ethan or his pack. And it had taken Jackson a long time to realise that his pack didn’t judge him for what he had once been. It was still something he struggled with, especially with new pack members which thankfully were few and far between.

Ethan was different though. He knew Ethan loved everything about him, including his kanima tail, and to be fair, it had come in handy in the past. Nobody expected him to be part kanima. Not even these vampires. Although their circulation didn’t work quite the same as humans or red-blooded mammals, Ava was unsure what effect his venom would have on a vampire. 

Jackson had been surprised to find that he hadn’t minded her knowing about his kanima side. She hadn’t treated him different for it or been wary of him, instead she’d been factual. She’d never heard of a vampire being hit with kanima venom, but still thought it might slow them down if nothing else. And Jackson desperately needed the bastard to slow down.

‘So what’s the plan?’ Jordan asked, sounding casual.

Jackson quickly glanced to his side where the hellhound stood, covered in flames. Jordan raised an eyebrow and grinned at him.

‘Arsehole.’ Jackson muttered, shaking his head. But at least with Jordan here they stood a better chance.

Ethan came flying through the air. Jackson leapt into his path, grabbing hold of his husband, his momentum turning them in a circle, before Ethan was able to get his feet on the ground.

‘Thanks.’ Ethan huffed, squeezing his arm. ‘We need to slow that fucker down.’

‘Let’s see what he thinks of some fire then.’ Jordan said, striding into the fray.

Ethan raised his hand towards the melee as if in invitation. ‘Better get that fine tail of yours into the game then.’

Jackson couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face. He had no idea how Ethan managed to make him feel so good about being part deadly reptile, but he did.

  
  
  
  


Malia blinked at the glinting sword that was suddenly in front of her face with the snarling face of a female vampire millimeters behind that.

She was sure she’d been fighting a male vampire. Although there had been three females as well. But she thought Scott and the rest of their pack were dealing with one of the females.

‘Thanks.’ Malia murmured before she snarled back at the vampire that was still snarling at her.

‘Don’t mention it.’ Kira chirped as both the vampire and the blade vanished from Malia’s view.

‘Are you alright?’ She heard Scott pant from somewhere as she watched Natalie throw up her arms as another vampire crashed into Liam. This was the male one she’d been fighting. She recognised that atrocious shirt anywhere. She’d ripped that hole in the sleeve. She could see him trying to bite Liam but he seemed to be fighting a force field that was blocking him instead

‘I’m fine.’ She snarled back, before rushing to Stacey’s side to cover her exposed back. Her arm was covered in blood but she was still using it so Malia didn’t think it was that bad.

‘They’re too quick.’ Stacey gasped. ‘They’re tiring us out so they can pick us off one by one.’

‘Don’t worry.’ Kira panted happily as she twirled into view, her sword stopping yet another injury. She twirled again and Malia blinked as the sword sliced into the vampire’s side. It wasn’t a bad injury but it bled freely. ‘I’m doing the exact same thing to her.’

  
  
  
  


Isaac panted as he narrowly avoided a vampire yet again. He knew they were quick but this was just ridiculous. It just wasn’t fair that they were quicker than them. Who the hell had decided to make vampires quicker, faster and more deadlier than werewolves? Weren’t having werewolf hunters bad enough?

He felt something slice down his leg and cursed as a tinkling laugh followed before it was cut off with a snarl. Goddamn vampires. Vampire hunters had better be a thing.

He felt the wound begin to heal and sighed in relief that they hadn’t gotten any venom in it. Although if the vampire had managed to use their teeth completing that move it would have been impressive.

He snarled as he blocked another vampire's path, herding it into Kira’s path hearing her chirpy and slightly out of breath ‘Thanks!’ call out as he headed back to his group. How they’d split into groups he didn’t know but he would take Jackson over Scott any day.

And wasn’t that a revelation in itself. He’d never really had anything to do with Jackson, he was the douchebag jock with a massive identity complex who thought he was above everyone else. But he did have a kanima tail which Isaac was positive he’d gotten a glimpse of earlier. Nor had Jackson being the raging arsehole he’d been in high school. Well not that Isaac had seen so far and he’d spent the night of the reunion with him. He’d always wondered what Danny had seen in Jackson to be his best friend. 

Isaac shook his head, he needed to get back into the game. He could wonder what the hell had happened to his life where he would rather be on Jackson’s team than Scott’s later, when he preferably wasn’t dead.

  
  
  
  


‘What do you think they’re doing?’ Mason asked as he shaded in the leaves on a massive tree.

‘No daddy, that green is for the grass, you need this green for the leaves.’ Amanda corrected him as she took his coloured pencil from him and provided him with the correct one.

Corey shrugged at him. But he was desperate to know as well. At least having Amanda here was a great distraction. ‘I’m sure they’re all fine.’

‘Sorry munchkin.’ Mason apologised.

‘That’s okay.’ Amanda said easily, poking her tongue out as she concentrated. ‘Just don’t get it wrong again kay?’

Mason grinned down at their daughter. ‘Okay.’

‘What about this yellow?’ Corey checked with her. ‘Is this yellow for the sun or the daisies?’

Amanda rolled her eyes. ‘Papa, there are no daisies.’

Corey frowned at the colouring-in book and pointed to the flowers at the bottom of the fence. ‘Then what are these?’

‘Sunflowers. D’uh.’

Corey glared at his husband who was currently biting his lip as his shoulders trembled.

‘I’m pretty sure that’s a daisy.’ Corey said, eyeing up the flower that was most definitely a daisy.

‘No, it’s a sunflower.’ Amanda said decisively and handed him another yellow pencil in the same shade. ‘Use this one.’

  
  
  
  


‘Well, that was anticlimactic.’ Ava panted as she finally managed to stake her vampire and it covered her in dust. 

While she had been quick, she had been completely unoriginal in her movements and her attacks. It had made for a rather boring fight, even if Ava was out of breath but that was due to not having vampire speed or her powers.

Luckily for her, the vampire had put too much faith in being the top apex predator. Ava never had. And while something similar to boredom may have played a major role in it, she had studied almost every single form of martial arts and even had a hand in inventing one or two. It may have been many years since she had seriously practised, but the movements were like second nature to her.

She had found herself falling back into the pattern of fighting, using several different styles, effortlessly interchanging between them as she kept the vampire’s attacks at bay until she could manoeuvre the stake into the vampire's chest.

While not all of her kind liked to get by without the use of their gifts, Ava had embraced trying and found she had excelled at it. She loved her powers, but having them temporarily taken away from her, did not make her helpless.

She turned to the seer, who was now looking at her in horror and backing away.

Ava grinned and stepped towards her. She could easily guess that the seer was seeing her own demise. ‘It’s time you learnt a lesson, young one.’

  
  
  
  


Jackson grinned as the vampire practically twirled away from Jordan. They certainly didn’t like fire even though this one had proven that he could injure Jordan. Luckily he hadn’t gotten too close or gotten his fangs anywhere near Jordan. Jackson did not want Lydia tearing him a new one because her boyfriend had gotten too close to the evil shit.

But it meant that the vampire was in the exact position that he’d anticipated and was waiting for. His tail darted out and seconds later the vampire roared before freezing, quite comically, in a half step away from them, his mouth still open and fangs glinting. His momentum kept him moving and he fell face down on the ground.

Jackson stared at the vampire, before looking around at the others. Isaac, Malia and Stacey were staring at the vampire, panting heavily but making no move to check him. Ethan was grinning at him triumphantly.

Jordan just shrugged. ‘If I touch him, will he go up in flames?’

Jackson jerked his chin forward. ‘Try it.’

  
  
  
  


‘If I’m translating this properly, and I have no idea if I am.’ Noah groaned. ‘This reads like the strangest recipe I’ve ever heard of.’

‘What have you got?’ Danny asked, rubbing his eyes.

Noah glanced back down to the pad he’d been using to make notes. ‘Umm, this may be wrong, but the ash of a 5000 year old tree, blood of a dragon or blood of a tree, I’m not sure of that one, and the, err, juice of a fig.’

‘Yeah, I’m getting a shopping list as well, and your second one is the sap of a blood dragon tree. It’s a rare tree that’s found in Yemen. The seer already has it. That’s one of the ingredients Ava and Stiles had me tracking.’

‘So I have translated it correctly?’ Noah asked, stunned. He looked down at what he had written, positive that it had all been gobbledegook. How was this his life? ‘What have you got?’

Danny groaned. It made Noah feel smug at how he’d managed to interpret three items in his paragraph. Okay he wasn’t even half way, maybe a third of the way down it, at a push.

‘The rind of a banana and the husk of a rhino.’

‘Wait, what?’ Noah blinked at him. ‘Are you serious?’

Danny grimaced. ‘Rhino husk was another one Ava and Stiles had me looking out for. It’s ground down into a powder, but the rind of a banana? I have no idea.’

‘Huh. Well I thought I was wrong but maybe my fourth one really is the milk of a nut.’

‘Coconut milk.’ Melissa promptly said without looking up.

Huh, why the hell had he not put that together?

‘I’ve also got the cherry bean faeces of a Civet, which, what?’ Danny groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

‘Oh. That actually makes sense.’ Melissa exclaimed suddenly sitting up. ‘Civet Cats eat the seeds of a coffee plant then poop them out. People make coffee out of it, it’s stupidly expensive, but absolutely delicious.’

‘That-that’s a thing?’ Noah pulled at his coffee. He had a vague recollection of Melissa getting them coffee beans from Ava that had something to do with a cat.

‘Yes, and yes you’ve tried it and yes you loved it.’ Melissa eyed him pointedly.

Noah swallowed and nodded. He felt vaguely nauseous and wondered how long coffee stayed in your system for.

  
  
  
  


Stiles grinned as Cora snapped at a leg that came a little too close for comfort to them. At least he thought it was Cora, it could have Derek, he’d gotten a little turned around with who was at which side as they all slid out of the vampires grasp. 

At least he didn’t have to worry about telling apart Peter who was the only werewolf in his little group in a beta shift.

He threw another beech stake, wincing when he heard the thud as it missed it’s moving target. But he knew in a second it would be back in hand as Peter headed off after it. He’d caught on quick that they could kill the vampires and even though Stiles still had a couple more hidden on his body, it looked like Peter wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

Nor were Derek or Cora leaving his side. Although they were actually holding up against the vampire better in their full shift then the others were in their beta shifts. Stiles would have to remember that.

It also helped that they had picked up on his methods and were herding the vampire to where Stiles could impale him on a beech stake. Only the vampire was fully aware of what was happening and was managing to evade each attempt, but his evasions were getting slower and slower.

They were wearing him down. It was only a matter of time.

One of the wolves lunged at him, the vampire ducked but as he twisted away and straightened, the other wolf was there snapping his jaws around his neck. Stiles knew it had to be Derek. He leapt in, a stake in one hand, the wrong hand, the hand that couldn’t reach the vampires chest with his other hand outstretched, the hand that could reach but was completely empty.

He carried on with the movement though, acting as if there was a stake in that hand, he ducked as the vampire realised the move and compensated away, just as Stiles felt the whistle of something moving fast through the air.

He took a second to glance and saw Peter with his arm outstretched, having just thrown something. Stiles glanced back and saw the stake he had retrieved imbed itself in the vampires side.

Close. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would injure him which would slow him down.

Cora and Derek danced away. Derek with blood around his snout.

That would slow him even further. It would take the vampire longer to heal with a beech stake in his side.

Stiles grabbed one of the stakes hidden in his boot, crouched down and rolled, popping up behind the vampire and driving the stake through his neck.

The vampire gurgled, sinking back onto his heels.

Stiles glanced towards Peter and shrugged. ‘You know you want bragging rights.’

Peter grinned at him. ‘I certainly do.’ He spoke around a mouthful of fangs as he yanked the stake out of the vampires side and plunged it into his heart. The vampire crumbled into dust.

Peter stepped back looking vaguely disgusted and completely human again. He brushed some imaginary dirt off his arm. ‘While I’m all for bodies cleaning up after themselves, I rather prefer dealing with blood than dust.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Shit!’ Jackson cursed as the vampire that Scott and his lot had been fighting suddenly appeared behind Jordan.

He lunged up towards him but knew he wouldn’t make it in time as the vampire leapt at Jordan. He was halfway there when he was suddenly thrown back, Lydia’s scream piercing his ears. He ended on the ground, clutching at his ears, barely able to see. He squinted through the pain only to see the vampire turn into dust in front of him.

Lydia’s scream petered out and he turned to see her standing there looking exhausted as she gasped in deep breaths, her arms hanging limply down by her sides.

His eyes widened in horror as yet another vampire suddenly appeared behind her.

‘Lydia!’ He screamed for her as he scrambled to his feat. There was no way she could die, not his Lydia. But he knew he was going to be too late.

Lydia cried out and there was a thud. Jackson was at her side in a moment as she cursed and winced on the ground where she’d fallen. He covered her as there was a snarl followed by ferocious growling, whining quickly followed by a whimper and another thud and then nothing.

Jackson chanced a look just as the screaming started.

Something clenched tightly in his chest and he realised it was a pack bond. Someone in his pack had put themselves between Lydia and the vampire.

‘No, no no no no no no.’ He whimpered as he stared at the fallen wolf. It was covered in blood, streaming out of multiple wounds around its neck, back and side. It wasn’t moving.

The vampire had gone, but Ava was standing several feet behind where it had been, looking pale and worried, her arm still outstretched.

The wolf heaved in a breath, it’s eyes closed as Jackson heard another scream. He felt numb, one of his pack was hurt and he hadn’t been able to save them.

‘Derek!’ Cora fell to her brother’s side pulling him onto her lap. ‘Come on Derek come on. You need to look at me. Open your eyes Derek please.’

He heard a moan from beneath him and glanced down, realising he’d inadvertently been crushing Lydia underneath. 

‘You okay?’ He asked her, helping her up. His voice sounded odd, distant and he vaguely wondered if he’d gone into shock. He couldn’t really feel anything, not even Lydia’s hand in his from where he’d helped her up.

She winced but nodded, her eyes widening as she glanced at Cora and Derek. ‘Oh no.’

‘Derek!’ Jackson froze at Stiles’ scream. He’d never heard him sound like that before. The pain, fear and horror he felt coming from Stiles almost had him staggering. He took a deep breath, trying to correlate the feelings with his own numbness. 

He blinked. 

Nothing made sense. He forced another breath into his lungs. His pack mate was hurt, his friend was hurt and he couldn’t make sense of it. Derek had been hurt saving Lydia.

This wasn’t fair. He shouldn’t have been hurt saving someone. Someone he loved. He loved both of them. They were both his family. He didn’t know what to do. He stared at Cora and Derek, not knowing what to do. Did he move? Did he go over to them? What was he meant to do? They’d always been there, had always known what to do, had always helped him. He couldn’t lose Derek. Not now after everything.

Why couldn’t he move? Peter was over there with Cora and Derek, even Stacey was over there, applying pressure to Derek’s wounds and getting Peter’s shaking hands to help her. But Jackson couldn’t even swallow let alone figure out how to put one foot in front of the other.

Stiles ran into view, stumbling over his feet and falling almost on top of Cora and Derek instead of beside them. ‘Derek!’

How did Stiles manage to feel so much when Jackson didn’t feel anything at all?

  
  
  
  


‘If you want to save him, then we need the nemeton.’ Stiles heard Ava say gently but he was trying to concentrate on remembering how to breath. Derek was too still. He wasn’t moving apart from the occasional breath but he hadn’t opened his eyes. And while Stiles was pleased he wasn’t awake in excruciating agony from the vampire venom, he desperately needed Derek to wake up and reassure him he was going to be okay. 

He could hear Stacey murmuring instructions to Peter on what to do. Peter who looked several shades too pale and not at all like the Peter that Stiles remembered. Peter’s hands were shaking as he followed Stacey’s every single direction with a simple nod of his head. That scared Stiles. If Peter was so worried, it meant that Derek was really hurt bad and might actually die.

Stiles could feel the pressure building behind his eyes and quickly blinked it away taking a deep breath. He knew Ava was talking to him, reminding him of what they had to do and he absently nodded. Ava’s powers were gone for the moment. 

Only the nemeton could heal Derek now if Ava was right, and he knew without a doubt that she was. He couldn’t lose Derek, not now, not after everything. He tried to swallow but almost choked instead. He just needed Derek to open his eyes, to tell him he was fine and mean it. All the ways he had imagined this fight, it had never been like this.

He’d just gotten with Derek. All that wasted time. There was no way he could lose him now. Stiles would move both heaven and hell to keep him. They were meant to be together, to grow old together, to find peace and happiness together. He was his mate and Stiles was not going to let even death stand in their way.

‘Can’t you save him?’ Stiles heard Stacey ask.

He looked up, tears blurring his vision as Ava shook her head. 

‘No, that glass orb the Seer had was a null bomb, it nullified my powers. While they will come back once the effects have worn off, it won’t be in time to save Derek.’ Ava’s voice was sad and he could hear the waver in it.

‘The vampires?’ Jordan asked.

Stiles cradled Derek’s head in his lap. He was so still, why was he so still? He smoothed the bloodied fur over Derek’s face with shaking hands. He was still breathing, they had time. But even he knew they didn’t have time to wait several hours for Ava’s powers to return. Derek didn’t have the time to wait.

‘Dead.’

‘The seer?’

‘Dead.’ Ava repeated. Come on Stiles. I can feel him now. He isn’t hiding anymore.

Stiles nodded. He knew she was talking about the nemeton. That was what would save Derek now. Stupid matyr, putting himself in between Lydia and the vampire. Although Stiles knew that Lydia would have been dead if he hadn’t. Stiles hated it, but he couldn’t blame Derek for what he’d done. He hated it, but wished Derek hadn’t. Not that he wished for Lydia to be hurt, he’d be distraught and inconsolable if the vampire had gotten Lydia, but he was still distraught and inconsolable with the vampire having got Derek. Although Derek had a chance of surviving. Lydia wouldn’t have. He needed them both to be okay.

‘How, how will the Nemeton help?’ Cora asked, her voice trembling. 

She was running her hands all over Derek’s body, through his thick fur, over bandages and feeling the injuries that Stiles knew wouldn’t be healing because the vampire must have bitten him. It was why Derek was so still, why he wasn’t waking up. When Isaac had been hurt the vampires had been playing. This time they’d been out to kill. And Derek had taken the brunt of that.

At some point Stacey or Peter had ripped their shirts off and used them as bandages against the worst wounds. Stiles blinked as he stared at the dark red blood seeping through. He didn’t know when they had done that but he was thankful.

‘He will be able to heal Derek.’ Ava told him quietly.

Stiles nodded as Derek was taken from him. He wanted to protest, to demand they leave Derek with him, in his arms but he knew the wolves were physically stronger and better able to carry Derek than he was. He bit down his protests and forced himself to relinquish his grip.

‘He?’ Stiles asked as he was pushed back as Jackson and Ethan manhandled Derek in between them. 

Jackson was uncharacteristically quiet, but his pale face spoke volumes. They managed to get him between them with Cora cradling his head, unable to let go of her brother. Stiles understood the feeling but couldn’t see a way for him to keep a hold of Derek with the three of them struggling to stand side by side as they carried the massive wolf.

Stacey had pulled Peter out of the way. His eyes looked wild and he was still too pale but now had smears of blood covering him. He looked like he was about to be sick as he leant against Stacey, his eyes refusing to leave Derek.

Jackson and Ethan glanced towards Ava and with a nod they set off further into the preserve.

‘Are you about to clarify for me?’ Lydia asked absently, he could see her repeating glancing at him. 

She was pale too and looked worried. He wasn’t surprised when she and Ava surrounded him, keeping him close to Derek but offering support wherever they could.

Ava winked at her. ‘I am what you call a whisper.’

‘What exactly is a whisper?’ Kira asked, her voice hesitant in the silence of the forest.

‘You don’t know?’ Jackson frowned as his eyes darted from Derek to the path they were on and back again. ‘But you’re the one who told us about them!’

Kira shrugged. ‘Doesn’t mean I actually know what one is. Just that they exist.’

‘There are many of us even though we are rare. We just don’t advertise what we are and not many of us stick around.’ Ava began as they walked. Stiles knew she didn’t enjoy talking about what she was and that this was hard for her. But Derek was more important and he knew that Ava knew that.

He glanced back at Derek, wondering just when he had gotten so important. Had gotten to be just as important to him as Lydia and Ava, to those who had dragged him through his darkest moments and refused to let him give up. 

He was pretty sure Derek had always been important to him, Stiles had just buried it for a long time. But the moment he had found out about Derek’s feelings for him, that Derek had picked him to be his mate, well, it was like a validation for those feelings that he had tried so hard to ignore and they all came bursting back, demanding to be centre of attention.

‘And what are you?’ Scott asked, glancing fervently at Stiles as if worried his question would upset him. 

Stiles really couldn’t give a toss about Scott at the moment. He glanced back to Derek, seeing him take a breath. It kept him moving forwards.

‘Immortal for starters.’

‘How is that possible in this day and age?’ Stacey asked before promptly blushing. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean how are you immortal, just how is it not known that you’re immortal with technology around?’

Ava smiled at her but Stiles could see the tightness in her face. She was worried too. He took in a shaky breath, only releasing it when she squeezed his hand. He couldn’t break down now, he had to get Derek to the nemeton, he had to get the nemeton to heal Derek, he had to get Derek back. He cold break down after, once he had Derek back, once Derek was healthy and moving and alive.

He forced his heartbeat to calm down. He would panic later, when he had Derek back in his arms.

‘Quite easy actually.’ Ava continued, pushing him to one side and indicating the branches. He held them out of the way so Jackson, Ethan and Cora could get Derek through easily. ‘Technology is new and easily manipulated. But even then, you’ll have heard how someone is the spitting image of their grandmother or great grandfather?’ 

Stiles watched absently as several nodded. Scott, Natalie and Liam looked to be avidly listening while the others in Scott’s pack looked unsure of whether they should be following or not. Except for Malia, she was on the other side of Peter holding onto his hand tightly. Or it could have been Peter holding onto Malia’s hand too tightly, Stiles wasn’t sure.

‘Not the spitting image, they just were that person however many years ago.’ Ava continued quietly. ‘We don’t age so we never stay in one place too long, at least one place that isn’t in the know about the supernatural.’

‘How is this helping Derek?’ Peter demanded. 

It seemed his cool facade was cracking. Which meant that Peter actually cared for Derek, that he was worried for Derek. While Stiles would never admit it out loud, not currently anyway, it made him realise that Peter, for all current intents and purposes, was good. Stiles glanced back at Derek again, relieved that Derek’s faith in his uncle had paid off at last.

‘We are immortal, and as you have seen we are powerful, but we still fall in love.’

‘Okay?’ Malia frowned, ignoring that branch that caught her in the face. ‘Where are you going with this?’

‘And it is rare that we fall in love with another immortal, so it is common that we outlive our loved ones.’

‘Oh.’ Lydia breathed. ‘That’s why.’

Ava smiled sadly at her. ‘And sometimes, some of us, cannot handle that pain. It takes a lot to kill us and we cannot kill ourselves.’

‘I don’t get it.’ Scott frowned. ‘Is an old ex of yours going to heal Derek? I thought we were going to the nemeton?’

‘How does an immortal stop living?’ Ava asked him.

‘What?’ Scott stared at her, walking into a branch. A very thick branch that stopped him in his tracks and almost sent him crumbling to the floor.

Stiles didn’t even find it funny.

‘What are you saying?’ Jackson asked. ‘Stop beating around the bush and just come out with it.’

‘I’m saying that sometimes a whisper doesn’t want to move on when their love dies, sometimes they want to die as well.’ Ava explained.

‘Okay? So why can’t they?’ Jackson growled, only calming when Cora reached out to him.

‘Ava said it takes a lot to kill a Whisper.’ Lydia prompted. ‘And they can’t commit suicide.’

Ava smiled. ‘Exactly.’

‘But there is a way that does stop the pain and memories?’ Kira asked, keeping them all on track as Ava hopped over a fallen tree. 

The path she was taking wasn’t actually a path. Stiles knew she was answering the pull of the nemeton. He’d felt that pull a few times himself and it would be their quickest way to get Derek there.

‘There is.’ Ava confirmed.

‘So what is it?’ Cora asked, probably before Jackson could snap.

No matter how angry they were getting at Ava not answering their questions, they still held Derek as gently as they would a newborn baby. The bandages were now soaked through with blood. Derek wasn’t healing from any of his wounds, the venom was well and truly in his blood stream now.

‘They turn themselves into something that doesn’t think, doesn’t remember and can live for centuries.’

Everyone looked blankly at each other.

Lydia rolled her eyes. ‘For Christ sake.’

‘Like a tree.’ Peter said woodenly.

‘Holy shit!’ Kira yelled as it clicked at the same time. ‘The nemeton is a whisper?’

‘I believe so.’

‘What else aren’t you saying?’

‘A couple hundred years ago, there were six whispers that had changed themselves into what you call nemeton’s. Around a hundred and fifty years ago, a friend of mine, also a whisper, we fell at the same time, went missing. His lover had died. I spent years intermittently searching for him and never found him. I assumed he had re-ascended. I was in this area looking for him after the second world war but never sensed him.’

‘You think he is the nemeton?’

Ava shrugged. ‘You told me Kira’s mother hid the Nogitsune in it in 1943.’

Kira and Stiles nodded. 

Concentrating on this story was helping him not panic about how still Derek was. He was still breathing though, and every time he caught Cora’s eye she would nod. His heart was still beating, he just hoped and prayed that it was still beating regularly but he knew Cora would say anything if Derek got worse. Derek was not allowed to bleed out before they got to the nemeton.

‘We can usually sense other whispers powers, but the power of the nogitsune would have hidden that from me.’

‘From everything I’ve read and heard, whispers are good.’ Peter frowned. ‘But a nemeton is neither good nor bad, it is influenced and it’s power can be swayed.’

‘A whisper turning themselves into a tree, may stop the pain of losing a loved one, but it doesn’t stop us being sentient. Doesn’t stop our power from being used by another.’ Ava answered, pulling at Stiles’ arm to change his direction and follow her.

‘Which is why the seer wanted it.’ Jackson sighed, not even huffing under Derek’s weight. ‘But what was she going to do with that power?’

‘Ah.’ Ava grinned at him as she helped them duck under some low hanging branches. ‘That’s a story for another time.’

‘If you’re right,’ Peter asked. ‘And the nemeton is a whisper, how was it cut down?’

‘He didn’t protect himself. He wanted to die.’

‘But it’s almost impossible to kill a whisper,’ Peter sighed as he nodded. ‘Which is why the nemeton didn’t die.’

‘I believe so.’

‘So when you said you needed to sweet talk the tree?’ Jackson huffed.

‘Yes, I need to convince him to return to human form.’ Ava said wryly as she glanced up. Stiles huffed a relieved sigh, even his spark could tell they were getting close. If this guy didn’t return to human quickly and heal Derek, Stiles wasn’t too sure what he would do but he knew it wouldn’t be pleasant.

‘You can still do that?’ Jackson said, as he, Ethan and Cora struggled to get Derek through some branches.

Ava smiled. ‘Yes. We can still return.’

Ava stopped and smiled, looking away from him. 

Standing before them was the nemeton. It was no longer a stump. Nor was it at its former glory, but it had several thick healthy saplings sprouting from its base with healthy leaves and blooms on it.

Ava tilted her head as she looked at it. ‘Hello Bart.’

Stiles blinked as fear suddenly clawed at his heart.

  
  
  



	25. Chapter 25

  
  
  
  


Ava smiled at her old friend. It was harder without her powers, but she still knew exactly who he was. He knew who she was as well, she was sure of it. She had her suspicions that he had been trying to come back to himself, that he had been reaching out for help. 

‘It’s been a long time.’ She said to him, with her powers gone, she had no other way to communicate with him.

She nodded as she felt rather than heard an answer. 

‘Don’t think I don’t know you manipulated his dad’s accident.’ She knew that Stiles would not be happy to know that Bart had ended up resorting to manipulate events to cause his father’s accident. But she understood why Bart had done it, he’d been desperate and it was an old and familiar tactic that was just as popular nowadays as it had been when humans first started walking the earth. ‘It was the only way you could ensure the two most intelligent people who knew about you would return to Beacon Hills.’

It gave her hope that he would want to come back, want to help them and would heal Derek. If he had been calling out to them, then he no longer wanted to die. He was healing and trying to find his way back. Being a nemeton, he would not have been able to contact her or others of their kind. He would only be able to contact magic users in the territory or those he might already be connected with. Like the connection Stiles, Allison and Scott had opened with him. Only Scott was already here and hadn’t helped and Allison was dead. That left Stiles. Stiles who would put it all together because that was what he’d always done. Along with Lydia. And if they’d left together, chances were they’d return together. 

Bart had gotten lucky in the fact that Ava had returned with Stiles.

She felt Bart’s confirmation and feeling of remorse mixed in with relief that it had worked. ‘You wanted them to protect you and they have.’

He was confirming a lot of her guesses. The nemeton, or rather, her old friend Bartholomew had needed Stiles to return, he’d tried using their connection to get him to return but Stiles’ now active spark had been protecting him and he hadn’t been able to get through. Nor did he have a connection to Lydia to call her back, not even with her being a banshee.

She didn’t have to look at Stiles to know that he was getting agitated with how long this was taking, that he was more concerned with keeping Derek alive then soothing Bart’s broken heart. But she needed Bart on her side, it would be Bart’s decision whether or not to heal Derek. And now that Bart realised she was here, he now had a connection to her and could feel her sorrow and anguish over Derek. 

An offer to help the injured wolf thrummed through her and she smiled. ‘It would be very much appreciated.’

Worry over her loss of powers washed through her combined with guilt that he had caused it. ‘I did. But to get you back? Worth it.’

It would only be for a few hours anyway. Only death could take away a whisper's powers indefinitely, and that was almost impossible to do. There were only a couple instances of it happening throughout the whole of time.

The air around them shuddered and the earth vibrated. She heard the gasps and worried comments from the others but she thought she knew what was happening. 

When it stopped there was a slender man standing in the place where the nemeton had been. He wasn’t all that tall, his brown hair came down to his waist and his beard almost the same place. He was utterly naked. Apart from the hair, he looked just like she remembered. Except for his eyes, they looked older than she remembered.

‘Thank you Bart.’ She smiled in relief and felt Stiles almost collapse beside her. 

He either knew what Bart returning to human meant, or picked up on her relief. She may not have been able to feel his anger slowly mounting at the time it was taking Bart to return but she knew that didn’t mean it hadn’t been. 

Now that Bart was human again, Derek would be healed and in a few hours would be absolutely fine. This would just be a memory, one that would take a while, if ever, to fade into the background, but a memory all of the same.

Bart huffed and approached Derek who was still unconscious in his wolf form. He crouched down and placed his hands on his shoulder and neck. Ava came and stood behind him, touching his back gently. It would take a lot of Bart’s energy, energy that he was no longer used to using. Energy that she was used to and currently had no access to.

Stiles reached out, placing his hand on the man’s arm. She saw Bart glance at him in surprise but still nodded his thanks.

Ava doubted he was used to getting help and support, but what did he expect being a tree for so long?

‘Keep him still.’ Stiles told Cora as Bart closed his eyes. 

It took several minutes but eventually a clear viscous liquid began slowly appearing from the open wounds and mingling with Derek’s fur. It was time consuming and would sap Bart’s energy but Ava knew he would draw from her energy before he drew from Stiles and that he would draw from both of them before his own energy ran out.

The venom kept coming, little by little, until it began to dribble in little rivulets through Derek’s fur and slowly form a tiny little puddle on the ground. She could feel Bart pulling her energy, using it to keep himself going, to keep drawing the venom out of Derek’s body.

It was a long and slow process and they were all in it for the long haul. Time no longer held much meaning, Derek wouldn’t die, he was getting better, but removing the venom was a slow hard process.

It was only when the wounds began to run clear with more blood than venom that Derek groaned and shook his head. His own healing would kick in once the venom was gone but Bart still hadn’t finished yet.

Cora began whispering to him and Derek stilled.

Ava wasn’t surprised that the first word out of his mouth was “Stiles”.

  
  
  
  


Stiles could feel himself tiring as Bart pulled energy from both him and Ava to keep going. But he had his spark and he believed that he had plenty of energy to give, enough energy that Bart would be able to completely remove all of the venom so that Derek’s own healing could start.

He was desperate to go see Derek, to see how he was doing and be there with him when he opened his eyes. To be the one reassuring him, but giving Bart his energy to heal Derek was more important. He remembered how long it had taken Ava to heal Isaac and he hadn’t been as severely injured as Derek was.

After what felt like hours, Bart sat back on his hunches and swayed violently until Lydia and Jordan held him steady. But he wasn’t who had Stiles’ attention. He’d heard Derek say his name some time ago and quickly darted around Bart to get to Derek.

Derek had already shifted back and was lying still, looking at him. He sat up and opened his arms as Stiles reached for him. ‘The vampires.’

‘Dead.’ Stiles smiled at him. 

Some thing never changed, including Derek’s ability to form a question it seemed. He burrowed into Derek’s arms, pressing himself firmly against his chest and just simply breathed in. He hadn’t known if he would ever get the chance to do this again and he was just going to bathe in the glory that was a Derek Hale hug. 

He thought he’d managed to convince himself that Derek would be okay but now that he knew he was, he could feel himself begin to shake and realised that he hadn’t really believed it. He gripped Derek tighter, knowing that with Derek’s werewolf strength, it didn’t really matter how tightly he held him.

‘The seer?’ Derek asked and Stiles rearranged his opinions on Derek’s ability to ask questions but didn’t bother moving his face from Derek’s neck. He was quite comfy here and the only person who was going to be able to get him to move would be Derek himself.

He’d thought he’d lost him. He was not letting go any time soon, even if that meant they were spending the night here. He would wait until Derek felt strong enough to walk them back home because he as sure as hell couldn’t even move his wobbly legs let alone get them to hold up his weight and walk him home.

‘Also dead.’ Ava answered.

‘The nemeton?’

‘Present.’ Bart grumbled with a hoarse sounding voice.

‘Aww. Neme.’ Ava teased.

‘I’m not living this down am I?’ Bart groaned.

‘Nope.’ 

Stiles angled his head to see Ava grinning at her friend.

Bart sighed. ‘I miss her.’

Ava nodded and opened her arms. Bart collapsed into them. Stiles knew the feeling and commiserated. He was beginning to wonder if anything other than a wolfsbane laced crowbar would separate him from Derek.

‘She knows she’s hugging a naked bloke right?’ Someone asked but Stiles didn’t recognise the voice or bother looking to see who it was. Part of him was surprised it wasn’t Scott, but it seemed as if his old friend was growing as a person.

He did hear a dull thud and a curse and guessed that someone else had smacked whoever it was who’d spoken. Normally, he’d be all over that comment but instead he was concentrating on Derek.

‘Hey.’ Stiles said, pulling back from his hug reluctantly and instantly gaining Derek’s attention. ‘You okay?’

Derek nodded, looking nauseous. Stiles imagined it was a new concept for the werewolf, but even though Bart had taken away the venom and Derek’s healing had kicked in and already healed the wounds, it would still take a few hours for him to regain his energy and recover fully. In the meantime he’d be feeling extremely nauseous and drained from the venoms after effects. Isaac was lucky he’d been able to sleep through his recovery.

Derek smiled tightly. ‘Yeah, got this weird feeling in my throat though.’

‘Like you’re about to throw up?’

Derek started to nod but quickly stopped and swallowed. ‘Yeah.’

‘Are we okay to head back now?’ Isaac asked, gaining everyone’s attention as he raised his phone as he walked around. ‘I want to let Danny know we’re fine but can’t get any reception.’

‘Yeah.’ Ava smiled as she pulled back from Bart but kept him tucked into her side. ‘Let’s go home. Oh hey Bartie, meet Kira.’

‘Hi.’ Kira’s eyes widened as she waved awkwardly, looking utterly terrified. ‘I’m Kira.’

Stiles shook his head.

‘She’s my girlfriend. It’s new but I think she’s a keeper.’ Ava happily bulldozed on.

Kira blushed.

Stiles snorted and pecked Derek on his cheek before he helped him stand. Proud that only his knees wobbled and hoped that it wasn’t bad enough for anyone to notice, he relinquished his Derek Hale hugs to allow Cora, Jackson, Ethan and much to his surprise, Peter get in on the action.

  
  
  
  


‘Hey Malia.’ Scott said as he watched what he was finally realising to be Derek’s pack, scent mark and hug him while Stiles hovered over him. 

When the hell had that happened? He wasn’t angry over it, just surprised. Stiles had never been into Derek, it was why he had tried so hard to get Derek to leave Stiles alone. Derek had only ever had trouble in his romantic relationships and falling for Stiles would only have brought him heartache.

Scott had been so sure it would have unrequited, but Stiles was once again proving him wrong. It was happening a lot recently and Scott was learning that there was a lot he didn’t know and a lot that he should be seeing or sensing or at least smelling what with being a werewolf and an alpha to boot. Nor should he ever interfere in anyone else’s love life.

He didn’t deserve his pack, he didn’t deserve their loyalty or love, but he could accept that he was too selfish to give it all up. Not that he actually could, he didn’t know of any way to give up an alpha spark without it being a way to save a life like Derek had done with Cora.

And there was Malia. She was one thing that he knew he couldn’t give up. He loved her and so far she hadn’t officially broken up with him. It meant he still had a chance. Malia always spoke her mind, so she either didn’t want to break up with him or hadn’t decided yet. He was hoping it was the former.

Malia sighed. ‘Scott.’

‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes, I’m fine.’ Her voice was tight but she didn’t smell like she was in pain and she wasn’t bleeding anywhere. He could smell some of her blood on her clothes but it was mixed in with other blood and there was no scent of fresh blood.

‘Can we talk?’ He’d been planning out what to say to her and thought he finally had it right. 

He was learning, and he would continue learning, he wasn’t that stupid that he thought this would all be over soon, that everyone would forgive him once the vampires were dead and he’d apologised and they could go back to the way things were.

He was pretty sure that no one wanted to go back to the way things were, well maybe not Theo but... Scott sighed as he remembered that Theo was dead and didn’t really have a say in the matter any more. He couldn’t quite believe that Theo had died. It seemed so long ago, and no one seemed all that upset over it. 

He really didn’t know his pack. That had to change. From what Natalie had told him, everyone should be mourning the loss of one of them and no one was. He had seen Theo die but hadn’t really felt it. Which he should have. Natalie had explained to him all about pack bonds but he hadn’t felt a thing, only guilt, sadness and shock. But no breaking of a bond. No sharp pain in his chest that Natalie said he should feel.

The pack bonds were first on his list of what to fix. He had to figure out why he couldn’t feel them and how to get them. He still had a lot of work to do on the pack, to prove to them that he was a good alpha and could take care of them. That he cared about them all and wouldn’t drop them for date night with Malia. No matter how tempting. 

He’d learnt his lesson, at least he prayed he had and that they would give him the chance to prove that he had. He had a lot of amends to make.

He watched Malia think about his question. He’d initially found her really hard to read until he realised that she was basically an open book. She always said what she thought and it usually showed on her face what she was thinking anyway. And it currently looked like she did want to speak to him.

Eventually she nodded. ‘Yeah. We’ll go home and talk there.’

He grinned, well the pack bonds were second on his list.

  
  
  
  


‘Isaac?’ Danny asked urgently, holding his phone as tight as he could. ‘Are you okay? Is everything okay? What happened? Are you okay?’

‘Yeah I’m okay, we’re all okay.’ He heard Isaac’s reply and breathed out in relief, he could have whooped for joy. As it was he raised his voice for Noah and Melissa even though they were right beside him watching him anxiously and had probably heard Isaac. ‘They’re all okay!’

‘Are … okay? Are you … okay?’ Isaac sounded really faint and crackly.

‘Yeah we’re all fine, the vampires never turned up here but Melissa has cooked you all a feast.’ Danny replied, frowning at the reception. Isaac must still be in the preserve, the reception was awful and he kept cutting out.

He stood up going closer to the window even though he knew his own reception was fine.

‘Oh …. I’m starving.’ Isaac chuckled down the phone. ‘Hey can you let … sheriff and M… know … the vampires are dead?’

Danny breathed out a sigh of relief, if Isaac was laughing and talking about food then everything must be fine. He nodded and smiled at Noah and Melissa who both breathed out big sighs of relief. Melissa slumping into Noah and Noah wrapping his arms around her, kissing the side of her head and holding her tight.

‘What? The vampires are dead? How?’ Danny demanded, gripping the phone tighter. He saw Noah and Melissa both tense up.

‘They found … before we found the nemeton but … all fine. Only Derek … hurt. Danny? Danny … you hear ...?’

‘Yeah, yeah I can hear you. Is Derek okay now? Isaac?!’ Danny shouted down the phone, his heart thumping away loudly. The vampires had found them? How? How were they all okay if the vampires had found them? And they’d found the nemeton?

‘Danny? … think I’m losing ... Derek’s fine. We’re on … way ... Danny?’

‘Isaac? Isaac!’ Danny shouted but stopped when all he got was dial tone. He stared at his phone in dismay and quickly hit Isaac’s number to call him back. It went straight to voicemail.

‘Did he say the vampires were dead?’ Noah asked, his voice emotionless.

Danny nodded, swallowing thickly. ‘I think he said the vampires found them before they found the nemeton.’

‘That’s a good thing right?’ Melissa checked, her head swivelling back and forth between them.

Danny nodded but he honestly wasn’t sure. ‘Yeah. Yeah it is.’

Noah breathed out slowly. ‘It is. It means the vampires didn’t get the seer to the nemeton. If the vampires are now dead, I’m hoping that means the seer is too.’

‘Oh God.’ Danny groaned. ‘I’d forgotten about the seer.’

A phone chimed with a text and Melissa shot up, grabbing her phone out of her pocket. 

‘It’s Scott.’ She breathed out in relief before she frowned. ‘He’s fine, he's going home to work things out with Malia.’

‘At least he text you.’ Noah offered, rubbing her back. Danny decided he was the bravest man he knew. ‘I still haven’t heard from Stiles or Ava.’

Melissa glared at him. ‘Because they’ll be coming straight back here to reassure us and probably know Isaac called Danny.’

Noah winced and leant forward, giving her a quick chaste looking kiss. Melissa melted into him, tucking her head into his neck. 

Danny had never felt jealous of Stiles or Scott before, but they honestly had the best parents ever.

  
  
  
  


‘I wanted to thank you.’ Peter said stiffly, inwardly wincing the second the words left his mouth. He wasn’t used to thanking people, nor was he used to losing it and being as helpless as he had been when Derek had been hurt.

The female werewolf raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Thank me? For what?’

Peter huffed out. ‘For helping Derek. I know he’s not your pack, but you still helped him.’

She shrugged. ‘It’s kinda my job.’

Peter grabbed at her arm. ‘No, it’s not. But I owe you for it.’ He turned her to look at him. ‘You need anything, you come to me. No questions asked.’

‘That doesn’t sound dodgy or creepy in the slightest.’ She stared into his eyes and he blinked. It had been a long time since he’d felt attraction towards another person.

‘We’re werewolves darling, dodgy and creepy is what we do best.’ Peter wanted to puff out his chest when she snorted, amusement colouring her scent.

‘And how exactly do I call in this favour?’ She asked. ‘I don’t even know who you are.’

He handed her a card. ‘Peter Hale. At your service. And may I ask what your name is?’

‘Sure you can ask all you like.’ She grinned at him. He was surprised at the laugh that escaped him. ‘You must be the uncle I’ve heard all about.’

‘Oh I’m sure it was all greatly exaggerated.’ He winked at her surprised when she laughed and that there was no hint of fear or worry in her scent when she realised who he was.

‘I doubt it. Unless you didn’t actually kill your niece and use a teenage banshee unaware of her heritage to resurrect yourself.’

‘Oh, all underrated I assure you.’ Peter winked at her.

She looked at his card, her scent turning curious. ‘Import export? You travel a lot?’

‘I do get to see a lot of the world’s wonders.’

She smiled. ‘Thanks Peter, I’ll see you around.’

He blinked and inclined his head, smiling at her as she went over to Liam and Natalie as the group started to break up and head in the directions of their cars.

‘Yes. I look forward to it.’ He murmured quietly, knowing that she had heard him. He still didn’t know her name. He could ask Malia, but where was the fun in that?

  
  
  
  


‘So what exactly is this list?’ Noah asked waving it in the air the second Stiles and Ava walked through the door.

Danny pushed past them and grabbed hold of Isaac, yanking him into a hug. Ava wasn’t surprised when Isaac burrowed into Danny’s hold but she turned her attention to the piece of paper in Noah’s hand.

Noah stared at Stiles who was propped up under one of Derek’s arms with Cora under the other. ‘Derek, you okay son?’

‘Hey, where’d you get hold of that?’ Ava asked, staring at in surprise. It had been a long time since she had seen a list like that.

He held it out to her and took it, reading it easily in its original languages.

‘I thought you said this no longer existed?!’ Stiles exclaimed, peering at it while keeping a tight hold on Derek who snuffled and blinked himself awake again.

‘Hmm?’ Ava asked as she read the list. ‘Oh. It doesn’t. This is missing a load of things at the end.’

‘It’s also a fake.’ Bart intoned as he looked over her shoulder. He was picking at the spare clothes they kept in the car and she could easily understand. He wasn’t used to wearing clothes and the last time he had, the fashion had been decidedly different.

Ava snorted. ‘Coffee bean from civet cat poo. Brilliant.’

‘What do you mean?’ Danny asked. ‘Why is that brilliant?’

‘This list is from, what BCE time period? With a crude bastardisation of three extinct languages? Coffee was discovered in the eleventh century. Over a thousand years after this was supposedly written. It’s a forgery.’

‘A forgery of what exactly.’ Noah demanded while somehow managing to look angry and worried at the same time.

‘How to make a null bomb.’ Ava promptly answered, wondering exactly how much Noah knew and just how mad he really was.

‘A what bomb?’ Noah exclaimed, glaring at her. Maybe she shouldn’t have used the word bomb.

‘It’s a bomb that takes our powers away.’ Ava said, keeping everyone’s attention on her, while Stiles slowly lumped Derek mostly onto him and made for the stairs. It was very slow progress.

‘Who’s powers exactly?’ Noah demanded.

‘Mine.’ She admitted unable to help the smile on her face.

‘But as this is forgery, they didn’t do that right?’ Melissa cut in.

‘Oh no. They did. The seer had an accurate recipe and used the bomb.’ Ava told them both honestly. They were family and there was no way in hell she was ever lying to family.

‘What?’ Noah glared at her. ‘This was what you two kept from me?’

Ava smiled as she nodded. ‘It was. We were expecting it if they showed. That’s why Jordan, Lydia and Kira were also there.’

Noah wiped a hand down his face. ‘But you’re all okay? No one was maimed? No one died?’

‘Derek was hurt, but Bart healed him.’ Ava answered, inclining her head towards Bart. Stiles had only just gotten Derek to the bottom of the stairs where Cora stayed hovering. She looked like she didn’t know whether to follow or not.

Noah blinked at him and stared at him. ‘I’m sorry, who are you?’

‘I was what they called the nemeton.’ Bart offered. Noah stared at him. ‘I’m Ava’s kin.’

Noah nodded, seeming to accept that. ‘Okay then. No one else hurt? Dead?’

‘The vampires and the seer are dead.’

‘Good.’

‘Oh, Theo died. I almost forgot that.’

‘Did anyone we care about die?’ Melissa asked, her voice cold.

‘No.’

‘And Derek’s now okay?’ Noah glanced to the stairs where Stiles and Derek were only just a little way up.

‘Yeah, I’m just going to take him upstairs so he can sleep it off.’ Stiles said pushing Derek further up the stairs.

‘You know I have a perfectly good room and bed in my own house.’ Derek mumbled around a yawn.

‘Tough shit. You’re all staying here tonight. I think we all need to be together.’ Stiles snarled back at him but even Ava didn’t hear any heat to his words.

‘Stiles I’m fine I promise.’

‘Well I’m not. I need you here and I need Ava here as well. Especially while we’re waiting for her powers to return. This is the safest place in Beacon Hills.’

‘Okay. Okay. I’ll stay, I promise. But Stiles, you do remember that all the vampires are now dead.’ Derek yawned again and Ava saw Cora and Peter exchange a worried look.

She needed to tell them that this was normal, that Derek was expected to be this tired after the amount of venom they’d gotten out of him.

‘Shut up Derek.’ Ava grinned at Stiles’ retort as they made it up the last of the stairs and Stiles propelled Derek along to his room.

‘No one else was hurt?’ Melissa double checked, staring at her intently.

Ava shook her head. ‘Nothing that hasn’t already healed. Scott andMalia are fine, I promise.’

Melissa nodded, breathing out noisily as she relaxed.

‘Please tell me zombies are not real!’ 

Ava turned to Danny in surprise. ‘Zombies?’

Noah sighed. ‘We we’re trying to decipher that recipe thing. It said to stop the fallen.’

‘And zombies may have been mentioned.’ Melissa said, her lips quirking up as she glanced at Noah.

Ava stifled a laugh. ‘No, zombies are not real. Necromancy however…’

Noah paled along with several others. ‘Seriously?’

‘Not nowadays.’ Ava shrugged. It was a long time since she'd had to deal with a necromancer and she honestly couldn’t say she was upset about it. They were not easy to deal with. ‘Necromancers were hunted to extinction several centuries ago.’

‘And there isn’t a spell to raise the dead?’

‘No that’s impossible. You can only raise the dead through necromancy, which is a power someone is born with, and no spell will ever change that.’ Ava shuddered as she remembered those dark times. It was a power she was pleased she didn’t possess and she had never met a good necromancer, she’d heard of one, but never met one.

  
  
  
  


‘Hey.’ Scott said ducking his head as he stood there.

Malia was pleased she’d put this conversation off until they could get home. She didn’t want anyone to overhear this conversation.

‘Hey.’ She replied, wondering when the hell things had become awkward between them. She needed to ask him so many questions, needed to know why he had treated her the way he had and if he had realised what he’d been doing. 

‘I’m really sorry for everything and I’ve been talking with Natalie and going through pack dynamics. I can see what I did wrong and why it was wrong and I’m really working on it. I promise and I will do anything to make this better. I don’t want to lose you Malia, I love you.’

Malia opened her mouth, paused and then closed it again. She winced. ‘I love you too Scott, but, I lost myself being with you. You made me lose myself.’

‘What? What are you talking about? What do you mean?’ Scott asked, sounding and smelling bewildered and confused.

‘You never paid any attention to my instincts.’ Malia said slowly, speaking her thoughts. She’d never been one to think her thoughts through before speaking but to say them as she thought them. ‘You dismissed them all the time and somewhere along the way, I stopped standing up for myself. I hate that. And I don’t know when I stopped believing in myself but I don’t feel as if you believe in me.’

‘Malia…’ Scott stared at her in horror. ‘I had no idea you felt that way.’

‘Neither did I.’ Malia told him honestly.

‘So what do we do?’

‘I don’t know.’ Malia shrugged before she realised that was a lie. ‘Actually I do. We need to break up.’

‘What? Why? Malia we can come back from this. I’m working on my problems, I’ll get better. I promise I will listen to you more and put you first!’

Malia took in a deep breath around the sudden pain in her chest. She knew it was her pack bond breaking. The others may not have felt them, or more likely, just hadn’t realised what they were feeling, but she did. It was what made them all obey their alpha. They wouldn’t have obeyed Scott if they didn’t have a bond with him. ‘Scott you do put me first. That’s not the problem. You’ve always put me above the pack, even when you shouldn’t.’

‘I know, and I’m working on it.’ Scott pleaded. ‘I promise. What about a break instead?’

Malia shook her head. ‘I’ve never understood people who take a break from their relationships. You’re either with them or not. And I no longer want this relationship. I need time to find me again.’

‘I don’t want to lose you.’ Scott sniffed.

‘I’m not saying that there isn’t any hope for the future. But I need to figure out where I went and you need to figure out how to run a pack.’ Malia sighed as she looked around the house. ‘I’ll pack a bag and see if I can stay with a friend tonight.’

‘No.’ Scott winced. ‘It’s my fault, I should be the one to go.’

No it’s fine.’ Malia shook her head. ‘Out of the both of us, I’ll find someone to stay with easier than you will.’

Scott winced again.

‘Sorry. That probably came out harsher than I meant.’ Malia admitted.

‘No. No it’s okay.’ Scott murmured, looking lost. 

‘I’ll go pack a bag.’ Malia turned and headed up the stairs, leaving Scott alone in their front room.

After their conversation on the way to the fight, Malia was sure that she could stay with Stacey in her spare room. Maybe she could take over Stacey’s apartment when she left. Or even go with her. 

She had a lot to think about.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Come on, lets get you into bed.’ Stiles huffed as he manhandled a very willing werewolf into his bed.

‘Are you going to take advantage of me?’ Derek asked. He’d probably meant it sexier that it had come out, what with the yawn that had forced itself out of his mouth at the end of his sentence.

Stiles snorted. ‘Not tonight, big guy. You need to sleep and I need to reassure myself that you’re okay.’

‘M fine.’ Derek told him, curling up on his side and trying to pull Stiles down with him.

‘Oh no. Not yet. You need to get undressed first.’ Stiles flailed as he tried to pull back but only ended up sprawling over Derek instead.

‘Want you.’ Derek murmured.

Stiles felt himself give in. ‘Yeah, I want you too Derek. But first of all, you need to take these clothes off.’

‘Okay.’ Derek agreed, sitting up suddenly and dislodging Stiles as he yanked his shirt off before yawning and collapsing back onto the bed.

‘Derek?’ Stiles asked quietly, cupping his chin with his hand.

Derek snored.

He sighed and looked at him. This was not how he had envisioned taking Derek’s pants off. He had at least assumed they would both be conscious for it.

He reached out and trailed his hands over Derek’s chest, over where he could still see faint lines where the vampire had bitten into him. Lines that he knew by morning would have disappeared.

He swallowed as his hand shook. It had been a close call. Closer than he ever wanted. He had almost lost Derek. But here was the proof, right in front of him, that Derek was still alive. 

He took in a shaky breath and blinked away the tears that had started to push out of his eyes. He forced a smile onto his face and squared his shoulders. Derek was fine. Derek was alive and healthy and right in front of him.

He got up off the bed and walked to the bottom of it. He pulled off Derek's shoes and socks and dumped them unceremoniously at the foot of the bed. He glared at Derek’s trousers. How the hell was he going to do this? Correction, how was he going to do this without feeling like he was taking advantage of Derek and molesting him in his sleep? While they had slept in the bed with each other, they hadn’t actually had sex yet, nor had they seen each other naked.

It was something that Stiles was most definitely looking forward to, but he knew of Derek's past relationships. There was no way he was pushing or rushing into anything. And Stiles hadn’t had a serious relationship since Lydia. They both needed to be ready.

He nodded to himself. He could do this. He crawled up the bed, over Derek and undid his belt and jeans button, unzipping them and breathing out a sigh of relief that Derek didn’t go commando. He really didn’t trust his own restraint.

He tugged at the jeans, freezing when he noticed they were taking Derek’s boxers down with them. Goddamn it, couldn’t he catch a break? He huffed and instead tried to pull Derek’s boxers back up and push his jeans down over his arse. His very fine and sculpted arse that holy hell, how did Derek get his arse looking like that? How many squats and lunges did the man do? Because he had seen other werewolf arses and they did not all look like that.

He was going to need a cold shower after this. 

Finally managing to free Derek’s boxers from his jeans without accidentally uncovering his junk and manfully resisting the urge to take a quick peek, who was he kidding, no way would that peek be quick, he managed to yank off the rest of Derek’s jeans.

The fact that Derek slept through the entire thing was a testament to how badly injured he had been. Stiles quickly shed his own clothes, pulling on an old t-shirt that he slept in, and crawled up the bed, running his hands over every inch of Derek that he could reach, every PG inch, reassuring himself that Derek was still there, still breathing, still healed, still with him, still okay.

He flopped down on the bed behind Derek and wrapped his arms around him. He buried his head into Derek’s back, right where his tattoo was and allowed the dam the break. His breath shuddered as his heart raced, tears pouring from his eyes and he struggled to tighten his grip around Derek.

Derek snorted in his sleep, before rolling over unexpectedly. Stiles squawked when Derek crushed him but settled down when he felt him wrap his body around him. He relented and his heart calmed but his tears didn’t stop when he realised that Derek was trying to comfort him in his sleep, that Derek was hugging him.

He bit his lip trying to quieten his sobs as he pushed his face into Derek’s chest. He’d almost lost him, when they’d only just gotten started.

  
  



	26. Chapter 26

  
  
  


‘So.’ Noah said, staring around the group of people left in his living room. ‘I take it you’d all be happier staying together tonight?’

Ava hid her smile and was surprised that none of the werewolves could smell her amusement. She loved it when Noah pulled out his tough guy act. And she knew it was an act. As much as he loved his peace and quiet, he had thrived living with them all when Stiles had been recovering and she knew he would enjoy having them all under the same roof tonight.

Cora winced. ‘Sorry Sheriff, we would prefer to but we can go back to Derek’s house.’

‘Yeah, we can go home.’ Danny offered hesitantly with a quick glance to Isaac.

Ava couldn’t help the snort that left her.

‘Nah, we might as well clear some space and bring the mattress from the spare room down.’ Noah grinned, winking at her.

‘Sleepover style?’ Ava asked, perking up but then deflated. Losing your powers always sucked, no matter for how short a time, and while she easily went days, weeks or even months without using it, it had always been there. ‘I can’t magic up any extra mattresses.’

‘We could bring some over?’ Jackson offered hesitantly, looking between Cora and Noah. ‘Derek wouldn’t mind.’

‘While Stiles and Derek are upstairs, does anyone mind filling me in on everything?’ Peter asked, sounding casual but his eyes seemed to be taking in every little detail. Ava recognised his type. In her opinion every pack needed one like him, one whose morals erred on the greyer side, one who was willing to get his hands dirty to protect those he loved. 

She’d looked into the Hale pack after Stiles had told her everything, they’d been peaceful and no harm should ever have come to them. Peter had always had grey morals, even before the fire, but they hadn’t been nurtured in the right way. Looking at him now, it appeared that Cora knew exactly what she was doing as alpha and how to protect those she loved and her pack. And Peter was without a doubt included in that. His pack protected him, and he protected them, the way it should be.

‘And what would that everything be?’ Lydia asked a little too sweetly.

Jackson glanced unsurely at Ethan.

Ava laughed. She also knew Lydia’s rocky history with Peter. ‘Jackson that’s a lovely idea. How many do you think would do it Noah?’

Noah eyeballed the room. ‘If we moved all the furniture out, I think two mattresses would do it.’ 

‘Jordan and I will be using the bed in the spare room.’ Lydia informed them. ‘Jackson bring three mattresses back with you.’

‘Cora?’ Ava asked, getting her attention. ‘You mind doing the honours while you all go collect those mattresses? I don’t want to know the state Derek’s house would be left in without a female to oversee.’

Cora grinned. ‘As long as you don’t mind me catching Peter up on everything?’

‘Of course not. It’ll save Stiles from having to talk about it.’ It was why she had suggested it. Stiles hated to think about it let alone talk about it, and she hated Stiles doing anything that would upset him.

‘This sounds as if there’s a story there.’ Peter said, idling trailing a finger over a landscape portrait that was vaguely familiar to Ava.

‘Oh you have no idea.’ Cora grumbled darkly.

The doorbell rang and Ava frowned as she glanced round at everyone there. They weren’t expecting anyone. Anyone they actually liked was here in this house. She looked at Cora. ‘Who is it?’

‘One of Scott’s pack.’

Jackson sniffed. ‘That’s Stacey. The one I told you about. She wants out of Scott’s pack.’

‘Really?’ Ava asked as she headed towards the door, noticing Peter’s interest in that statement.

‘Yeah, McIdiot bit a doctor.’ Jackson snorted disdainfully.

Ava smiled ruefully as she answered the door and looked the werewolf doctor up and down. She knew she would have heard Jackson’s comment but probably didn’t know him well enough to know that his disdain was for Scott and not her being a doctor.

‘Hi, I’m sorry to intrude and know this is not a good time but Malia said she was on her way over here and asked me to meet her here.’ Stacey quickly explained, looking uncomfortable. Ava instantly recognised her as the one who had bandaged Derek’s wounds.

‘She is?’ Ava asked, once again surprised. She glanced at Peter who also looked surprised. ‘Come on in. Jackson was just telling me about you.’

‘He, he was?’

Ava grinned. ‘He said you’re a doctor, which seeing how you took care of Derek now makes sense. Mind telling me what kind?’

Stacey pulled a face. ‘I now work in the morgue but I used to be an ER doctor.’

Ava grinned as she sat up straight. ‘Fancy a job?’

‘Yes.’ Stacey said instantly then looked as if she regretted it. ‘Wait what? Where? Doing what?’

Ava grinned at her. She liked her. ‘Stiles and I have a business where we help right supernatural wrongs. We could do with a doctor on our staff, and as for the where, we currently cover the whole of the USA, including South America.’

Stacey blinked at her. ‘Are you serious?’

Ava chuckled. ‘We’ve been likened to a supernatural police.’

‘Like the avengers?’

Ava winced. ‘Do not let Stiles hear you say that.’

‘Seems like you don’t need my help after all.’ Jackson grinned.

‘We’re going now. Anything else you want us to pick up?’ Cora rolled her eyes, smacking Jackson upside the head.

‘Hey, what was that for?!’

‘Just bedding I think. Unless you want midnight snacks after Melissa’s feast?’

‘Just don’t eat all of her food while we’re gone!’ Jackson growled as if it was a threat, only it sounded more like a plea.

Ethan laughed as he pushed Jackson past Stacey and out the door. ‘Stiles and Derek are still upstairs, I doubt they’ll manage all that food without us.’

‘Peter!’ Cora called back. ‘Are you coming?’

Ava hid her amusement at his torn look but he followed his alpha out the door. Ava was under no illusionment that it was because he was obeying an order, he was clearly the type to rejoice in disobeying. Just like he was clearly the type who loved knowing everything.

Cora froze on her way out the door.

‘Everything all right?’ Ava frowned, instantly concerned. From the little that she knew about Cora, she didn’t get alarmed easily.

‘Stiles is crying upstairs.’

Ava smiled sadly, her heart clenching. She glanced upwards before taking a breath and stilling her immediate urge to run to him. ‘Derek’s with him, he just needs to get it out of his system.’

‘Derek’s asleep.’ Cora pointed out.

Ava smiled and shrugged. ‘They’re mates. He’s still there for him. And if Stiles needed any one of us, he’d have called down.’

Cora frowned.

Ava placed her hand on Cora’s arm. ‘Trust me. I know Stiles, and he made a promise to me, his dad and Lydia, that if he needs help, he will always ask. If he didn’t want to call out, or for anyone else to know, he has his phone on him and he would have text.’

Cora looked at her for a long moment before nodding. ‘We need to talk about them being mates. I doubt very much that you live anywhere near us.’

Ava grinned at her. She liked this woman. ‘We don’t. We’re currently based in New Orleans, but that’s not to say we can’t move.’

Cora looked at her surprised before a grin broke out on her face. She darted forwards and quickly enveloped her in a warm tight hug, murmuring ‘Thank you’ before she jogged to Derek’s car and her waiting packmates.

Ava smiled, feeling her shoulders relax. It had been a long time since she’d been hugged by a werewolf.

  
  
  
  


‘Liam, thank god.’ Mason muttered, crushing his friend as he hugged him. Not that Liam would actually be crushed but he’d been worried sick and Liam had literally just waltzed in. He wasn’t covered in any blood or even had any torn clothes so must have stopped off somewhere for a change of clothes and possibly a shower. Sometimes Mason could kill his best friend.

‘Come on Amanda, lets go get your dad some sweeties.’

Mason smiled thankfully at his brother. He seriously owed him once all this was over.

‘Sweeties!’ Amanda jumped up. ‘And uncle Liam needs sweeties too!’

‘And Uncle Liam too.’

‘Do we get sweeties as well uncle Shaun?’

Shaun winked at her and nodded silently, putting his finger to his lips which did nothing when she squealed happily and ran from the room.

‘Thanks Shaun.’ Mason smiled weakly at him. Shaun didn’t technically know about the supernatural but it was obvious he had guessed. Neither had ever confirmed it though. He waited until Shaun and Amanda had left to punch Liam’s arm and glared at him. ‘Couldn’t you have sent us a text?’

‘Sorry.’ Liam huffed before going over and hugging Corey. ‘It was, well it’s been something.’

‘What happened?’

‘Oh god, where to start?’ Liam groaned, flopping down onto the bottom of Corey’s bed.

‘Liam!’ Mason snarled, desperately wanting something strong and heavy and ideally coated in wolfsbane to hit his friend with.

‘Right. Well, we caught up with Malia who had caught up with Derek. Turns out Cora’s his alpha and Peter is in his pack.’

‘Wait seriously? Cora is an alpha? And they let Peter in?’ Mason scrunched up his nose. He may not have been around at the beginning, only meeting Peter when he escaped from the ghost riders, and although the man had helped, and actually caused, the dead pool, Scott had informed him of everything Peter had previously done.

Liam shrugged. ‘He was no worse than Theo, who is now dead.’

‘What?’ Corey stared.

‘Not upset about that, but how? Who killed Theo?’ Mason asked, sitting down as he stared at his best friend. As bone headed as Liam could sometimes be, he wouldn’t have led with Theo’s death if anyone else had been killed or seriously hurt.

Liam huffed out. ‘The vampires. They caught up with us, along with the seer. Ava was right about everything. Only…’

‘Only what?’ Corey asked while Mason just stared at his friend.

Liam winced. ‘The seer had something with her. It took away Ava’s powers.’

‘Is she okay?’

Liam nodded. ‘She didn’t seem fazed, thought it was more funny actually, but seeing as it turns out she’s a better fighter than all of us werewolves combined… she still killed more vampires than us and she was completely powerless. But I don’t know what it means for you guys.’

‘What do you mean for us? Oh shit.’ Mason felt all the energy drain out of him as he stared at his husband. He hadn’t even thought of what Ava losing her powers would mean to Corey. To them.

Corey would never walk again. It was like hearing he was paralysed all over again. They’d lost their chance of getting Corey’s legs back. He would be a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Corey closed his eyes and swallowed. ‘We’ll deal.’ His voice was hoarse. ‘We’ll find a way and deal. What else happened?’

Mason reached out and grabbed his hand. He nodded. Corey was right. They would deal. They were alive and together, that was the most important thing. Once Liam had gone home, he would hold his husband while they both cried it out.

‘Derek was the only one with any severe injuries. Ava got the nemeton, who turned out to be a man, to heal him.’

‘Wait, what? The nemeton is a man?’ Corey’s eyes bugged out while Mason felt his jaw drop.

How had they never known this? How was it even possible? He thought the nemeton was hundreds of years old. 

‘Yeah, he was a friend or kin of Ava’s, I’m not really sure. Hey, maybe we could get him to heal you?’

Mason stared at Corey, he nodded feeling hopelessly lost and adrift. They knew nothing about this man but if he was willingly then they’d go for it. Although it all depended on whether or not he would help, but the way how Ava had said that she had to do it slowly and over time made Mason doubt this unknown man would help.

  
  
  
  


‘Is Chris dead?’ Peter snarled as he entered the Stilinski house.

It hadn’t taken them long to pack up three mattresses into separate cars and all the spare food they could find. But then Cora had spent the drive back explaining to him what had happened to Stiles and had taken the scenic route back. It had taken him a long time to work out his anger running through the preserve but Cora had been waiting for him when he had finally returned. 

She didn’t know what was wrong with Malia but could easily guess that McCall’s pack was falling to the ground in light of what had happened to Stiles.

Peter was furious. He had never envisaged what had happened to Stiles after he had left. He’d known that Scott had kicked him out and that Derek had left shortly thereafter. He’d only stuck around for as long as he did for Malia and in case Stiles ever returned.

‘No.’ Stiles said, much too casually for Peter to like.

Apparently Derek didn’t like it either. He glowered at his boyfriend which was an impressive feat with how tired he still looked. But Peter knew that being around pack would help him feel better, it was probably why they were now downstairs with everyone.

Peter frowned at his daughter who had turned up in his absence, she looked fine but her emotions were telling him something different. It also appeared that everyone had already eaten but he was too worked up to eat. Cora however happily tucked into the mountain of food they’d reserved for her.

The other werewolf, the one called Stacey, the one who Jackson had said wanted to leave Scott’s pack, the one he felt a pull towards, had said she’d been coming over, but he had assumed with Scott and the rest of her pack. 

Instead it looked as if it was just the two of them. This divide between his daughter and Scott must be more serious than he originally thought but no one seemed to hold any animosity towards either of the girls and neither smelt like they felt unwelcome.

Malia shook her head at him. He’d talk to her later.

‘He’s where he deserves to be.’ Noah sighed and Peter recognised the sigh of a man who had watched someone he loved go to hell and back.

‘Yeah you mentioned that, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re all feeling slightly blood thirsting towards him.’ Cora explained, before glancing towards Malia and Peter. ‘Some of us more than others.’

Peter didn’t mind Cora talking for him. It had surprised him how well she seemed to know him after coming into her alpha powers. She had tracked him down and offered him a place in her pack, with conditions. And one of those was to find a job, she had one in mind but it was up to him if he wanted it or not. 

Somehow she had found the perfect job for him. One that utilised his mind and best assets, including his devious nature and ruthlessness. She had understood him, understood his need to be useful, his need to be violent, and his need to not be tied down.

Even now, it still surprised him that she had seen that those qualities in him were perfect for a supernatural import and export business of rare supernatural items. She had sold it to him by telling him it was basically his very own black market which he got to police. But it somehow worked and Peter had turned all of his pent up rage, anger and ruthlessness into finding the unfindable. All for a price. Money upfront. Non negotiable, non refundable. Attitude and snark provided free of charge. He loved it.

It had been his own form of therapy and he had excelled at dealing with corrupt people and coming out on top. While some of them didn’t even come out of it breathing.

Ava chuckled. ‘You want me to tell them?’

‘You’re okay with them knowing?’

Ava shrugged. ‘They’ve seen my power, know what I am.’

‘Chris is incarcerated in a prison that Ava helped to build.’ Lydia began.

‘Is that all?’ Malia snarled.

‘I haven’t finished.’ Lydia glared at her. Malia glared back but when Lydia refused to say anything more, she backed down with a nod of her head.

Peter stared at her, this was not like his daughter. She may have calmed down in the past years, but this was still out of character for her. The old Malia would have told Lydia to get on with it. He’d make sure they got some time together soon so she could talk everything out and figure out whatever it was she needed to.

Lydia nodded towards Ava. ‘Ava brought Allison’s spirit back for twenty four hours. Explained to her what her father had done to Stiles.’

Peter blinked freezing in place. That was possible? Ava could do that? He’d heard that she was powerful but so far hadn’t seen any evidence of it, apart from making those vampires her puppets temporarily. And while her fighting skills were certainly unparalleled, she had apparently been without her powers.

Ava snorted and smirked. ‘She wasn’t exactly best pleased and spent her entire time back ranting and raving at him.’

Derek gaped at her. Peter felt like doing the same. What he wouldn’t give to see certain people. Although that ruthless part of him that wanted to rip Chris Argent to shreds and dance on the remains was quelled, it was replaced with a large black yearning hole.

‘He was…’ Lydia took a deep breath. ‘Upset and as apologetic as I have ever seen someone.’

‘He begged Allison for her forgiveness. I believe her last words to him were a refusal.’ Ava slipped her hand into Stiles’ when he winced.

Peter could see how it was the perfect revenge, and the perfect prison. Killing Chris was too easy for the man, and what made it sweeter, was that it was all of his own making.

Noah sighed. ‘He’s in his own personal hell and will stay there until he dies a natural death.’

‘That works.’ Peter nodded, feeling himself relaxing. He’d always known Stiles was more ruthless than McCall, willing to kill where it was needed. He doubted that Scott had ever learnt that sometimes killing was necessary to stop the evil. It seemed that Ava was just as ruthless. ‘Mental torture is effective, even more so if it’s self inflicted.’

‘I still want to punch something.’ Malia growled, he could smell her frustration but wasn’t convinced that it was all aimed towards Chris. He had a feeling that at least some of it was displaced from a certain relationship of hers.

‘Then go punch something. We’re not stopping you.’ Ava smiled gently at her. ‘Unless it’s one of us. Then we’ll stop you.’

‘We won’t stop you from punching Scott though.’ Lydia added.

Malia deflated, suddenly looking small. ‘I don’t. I don’t think I want to be with him anymore. I told him I didn’t. That it was over.’

Peter closed his eyes. He shouldn’t feel so happy that his daughter was in so much pain and he didn’t, but he did feel relief that she had finally seen the light.

‘Was it my fault?’ Malia asked in a small voice. Well a voice that was small for her.

‘No!’ Stacey cut in adamantly, pulling Malia into a hug. ‘Why would you think that?’

Peter stared at his daughter in worry and alarm. ‘You were not alone in this relationship Malia, remember that.’

Malia shrugged as she leant against Stacey. ‘I’ve never had a problem voicing how I feel. So why did I let Scott get away with it?’

That was exactly what he was wondering. She had never had a problem voicing her opinions and thoughts before. Was it his fault because he hadn’t been around? Because she’d grown up wild and feral in the preserve?

‘It’s a form of manipulation, but Scott’s too much an idiot puppy to have realised what he was doing.’ Lydia cut in. ‘He’ll have been too in love with the idea of you both being on the same page to realise what he was doing.’

‘And what was he doing?’ Peter queried, he really didn’t like where this conversation was going.

‘Conditioning you to how he wanted you. Someone who loved him without question.’ Lydia somehow answered his question while ignoring him. He supposed she was after an apology, and while she did actually deserve one, he always believed in working for what you wanted.

Malia sighed. ‘I do love him. And I stopped questioning.’

‘It’s not as clinical as Lydia is making out but the gist is the same.’ Ava cut in.

Lydia inclined her head to Ava. ‘It’s human nature to want to fit in. Scott wanted you to fit in with him and you wanted to fit in. Most people call it change, they don’t realise what’s happening and in a lot of cases don’t mind it. They see it as themselves growing. Personal development.’

Malia sighed, sounding forlorn. ‘The sex was amazing though.’

Peter grimaced. He did not need to hear any more and had never been more pleased to see Melissa McCall in his life.

‘Peter are you eating? Because we’re waiting for you to eat before dessert.’

He was about to decline when his stomach rumbled, he had certainly worked up an appetite with his run and it seemed that finding out the hell that Chris Argent was now in had restored his ability to eat.

  
  
  
  


‘Are you okay?’ Kira asked Ava. 

They had all crashed out on the mattresses the werewolves had put down except for Noah and Melissa who had taken themselves off to bed. Kira had her arms wrapped around Ava but was holding her tightly, as if she could sense Ava’s mental distance.

Ava knew that Bart would be horrified if he found out that she was debating telling this entire pack what she really was. She didn’t know if he’d guessed that Stiles knew but hadn’t hinted that he did.

She’d gotten him a room at the local hotel and he had warded it before she’d finished paying. She understood the need to be alone. He’d been a tree for a long time. Just the walk back to the town had been enough of a social overload for him. He had to figure out where he went from here, if he wanted to stick around with Ava or go off on his own. She didn’t mind which option he chose and knew he was aware he could change his mind.

Stacey had returned to her home after everyone had eaten and Peter had taken Malia back to Derek’s house where they would stay the night. She’d seen his expression when Malia had told them about the breakdown of her relationship with Scott. He had not been happy about something and she doubted it was the fact that his daughter was now single.

‘Do you know what a whisper is?’ Ava asked, staring off into nothing. It was time that Lydia finally knew and she didn’t want to keep any secrets from Kira. Which meant it would be hypocritical of her to expect Stiles to keep it secret from Derek even though she knew he would. And Stiles was Derek’s mate, he was part of Cora’s pack. 

She knew packs, she had been mated to a werewolf a couple hundred years ago. It had been her last serious relationship. She didn’t want Stiles keeping secrets from them and he was the only one who didn’t look like he was paying attention. But he knew what a whisper was, what she was. 

‘Finally.’ Lydia muttered.

‘A whisper is one, or a soul, who has been put through the Trials and passed.’ Ava admitted slowly.

‘The Trials? The same Trials that that seer was going through?’ Derek was the first one to ask. That didn’t surprise her, she was finding out that he paid close attention to a lot of things.

She nodded. ‘Yes, only I passed.’

Derek blinked. ‘Okay and once you pass you become a whisper?’

‘No.’ Ava smiled. ‘Once I passed my soul evolved and was elevated. I ascended.’

‘What does that mean?’ Jackson asked.

‘I was no longer on this plane but a higher one. When I descended back to this plane I became what you call a whisper.’ She wondered how long it would take for someone to swear and want it in plain layman terms.

‘I’m so confused.’ Cora stared at her.

‘Oh for God’s sake, she’s an angel!’ Lydia snapped glaring at them.

Ava grinned at her. ‘Or rather a fallen one.’

‘What?’

‘That’s a thing?’

‘Angels are real?!’

‘You mean the seer was right?’

‘Fallen Angel? Are you evil?’

Ava laughed at the questions that were being hurled at her. ‘There are hundreds of us whispers. We do not call ourselves fallen angels, it would incite a panic or worse a bloodbath. People hear fallen angel and think Lucifer. We didn’t all fall that far. Although he’s really not all that evil, quite funny actually. Some stayed up in the higher planes, or Heaven’s, some made Hell their home, which is not as bad as the bible makes out, but a lot of us stayed here.’

Lydia smiled. ‘That’s what I thought.’

‘Wait, “a lot of us”? Are you saying...?’

‘You’ve probably met a few of us and never realised.’ Ava chuckled. ‘I wasn’t joking earlier when I said we didn’t advertise what we were.’

‘But you also said you were rare.’ Isaac pointed out.

Ava grinned. ‘And I am rare. It is rare that you find one of us who has been down here for so long without re-ascending.’

Cora chuckled as she shook her head. ‘You played on your wording so that Scott thinks that you and Bart are the only ones he’ll ever come across.’

‘And any research he comes across will convince him that Bart and I are the last two of our kind.’ Ava said smugly.

‘Is that really necessary?’ Jackson asked, scrunching his nose up.

‘Of course.’ Ava grinned at him. ‘Why do you think the joe public don’t know about the supernatural? There would either be a witch-hunt to exterminate everything supernatural or we would be used for their own gains.’

‘But we are supernatural.’ Ethan scrunched his face up.

‘And already Jackson is wondering if I can tell him who his birth parents are, Derek is wondering if I can tell if his family is at peace, Peter isn’t even here or know and he wants me to bring one of them back for him to speak to...’ Ava shrugged. ‘Where would it end?’

‘How the hell can you tell that?’ Jackson demanded, his eyes wide and horrified.

Ava laughed. ‘Truthfully, I guessed, but it’s easy to recognise the look.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Derek instantly apologised.

Ava shook her head. ‘Don’t be. Bringing a spirit back from the afterlife is not easy. It’s very very difficult and not many of us can do it. It can only happen with certain individuals and in certain circumstances. I can’t just bring anyone back and it’s only ever for a maximum of twenty four hours.’

‘That’s okay, I would never ask you to.’ Derek immediately answered, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. 

Ava was thankful when Stiles grabbed Derek’s hands and wrapped them in his own, allowing Derek to lean against them. ‘It’s not that. You’ve accepted what happened Derek. I couldn’t bring any of them back for you. I’m sorry.’

Derek nodded, looking away. ‘Thank you. For explaining.’

Ava smiled at him before turning to Jackson. ‘Same with you Jackson. You’ve accepted who you are.’

‘My parents are dead?’ Jackson asked, surprised.

‘No idea.’ Ava laughed. ‘As much as I wish I was, I am not all knowing.’

  
  
  
  


‘Mason. Mason!’ Corey watched as his husband startled awake. It wasn’t the first time, but he knew that Shaun was staying at their place tonight with Amanda waiting for Mason to come home so they could keep some normalcy for Amanda.

‘Shit. I fell asleep. Cor I’m so sorry.’ Mason rubbed at his eyes and yawned.

‘Mase, you’re shattered. Go home. Sleep in our bed. Kiss our daughter goodnight.’ Corey told him quietly, wishing that he could do the same. But he had to stop thinking like that, this was his life now and with Ava losing her powers, his chances of getting healed had massively diminished. 

His only hope lay in a man who had been the nemeton, who had been easily swayed to whoever had power. He didn’t hold out much hope. Truthfully he didn’t want to get his hopes up, it would only hurt more when the man refused.

‘Yeah.’ Mason nodded but made no effort to leave or even stand up.

‘What is it?’ Corey asked him gently. He knew that he wasn’t the only one going through this. Mason was too. They needed to be open with each other.

‘You know I’ll follow you anywhere?’ Mason asked, playing with his fingers before hesitantly looking up at him.

Corey stilled. He knew that, Mason had made sure he knew that, but there was one thing he hadn’t asked Mason. ‘And what if I want to stay?’

  
  
  
  


‘Scott! Thank God you’re okay!’ Melissa wrapped her arms around him and held him close, burrowing her head into his neck. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry and was finding it a close call.

She knew he was fine but there was nothing like seeing it for herself. Everyone had told her that Scott hadn’t been injured and he had text her telling her so, but she was his mother and she would always worry about him.

It didn’t help that she needed to talk to him about leaving Beacon Hills with Noah. When she’d woken up this morning she knew she had to tell him soon, she’d been putting it off for too long and while she had tried to drop hints, they had flown right over Scott’s head.

Her worrying had woken Noah up and he’d been the one to send her home to speak to Scott. It had been a surprise when he had let himself into her house just as she’d put the coffee on. She hadn’t even figured out how she was going to get him over here, not wanting to disturb him after an obviously demanding night.

‘I’m fine mom.’ Scott said quietly.

Melissa pulled back. He was lying. She knew her son and he was not okay. ‘What is it? What happened?’

She watched as his lower lip wobbled and his eyes began to water. ‘Malia broke up with me.’

Melissa blinked at him and stared. He had just been in a fight where he almost died. When had this happened? Why had this happened? They had been together for so long. But Malia had been at Noah’s last night but she had heard any of this. They’d spoken of other things and then Malia had left with Peter. She’d known they were having problems recently, but she hadn’t realised just how bad it had gotten. ‘What?’

‘We’ve been struggling.’ Scott hiccuped. ‘Ever since we found out about Stiles and Chris and...’ He sighed, his shoulders slumping down. ‘I’ve been a shit alpha and there’s so much I’ve been doing wrong. Malia blames me for Stiles. I thought we could get through it but she broke up with me after the fight.’

Melissa sighed. She knew that Scott had finally seen how much he had wronged Stiles, and in doing so it had opened up a can of worms within the pack and that he was desperately trying to fix it, but she hadn't realised that it had also bleed through into his relationship. ‘I’m sorry Scott.’

‘I don’t know how to fix it. She was the one thing I thought I’d done right.’

How the hell was she going to tell him she was leaving now? Her son had just been dumped by his girlfriend of ten years, was struggling with his pack, had just lost two friends, she did not count Theo along with Alex and David, and now she was moving away. ‘What did she say? Exactly?’

Scott’s lower lip trembled. ‘That she had lost who she was with me. That I dismissed her instincts and don’t believe in her.’

‘Oh Scott.’ Melissa sighed. That sounded a lot like him unfortunately, he had never understood instincts, even as a child and now as a werewolf when he should be relying on them, he still ignored their value. ‘You and Malia are very different in some things but similar in others. You both believe wholeheartedly that you are right, but Malia grew up and spent her informative years as a coyote with no support system and just her instincts to rely on. You had me, Stiles and Noah.’

Scott winced. ‘I didn’t think I was dismissing her! I’ve always believed in her, she’s amazing.’

Melissa nodded, she knew how much her son doted on Malia. ‘And when her instincts told her something, how did you react?’

Scott shrugged. ‘She hasn’t said anything about her instincts for awhile.’

‘And back when she did?’ Melissa asked, her heart sinking. It was obvious that Scott hadn’t realised the depth of the hurt he had caused Malia. For Malia to stop speaking up, this was a lot worse than she had ever thought things could get between them.

Scott frowned. ‘There wasn’t ever anything to back her up.’

Melissa groaned and smacked the back of his head. ‘Of course not! That’s what instinct is!’

‘Ow.’ Scott frowned, rubbing the back of his head even though she knew it wouldn’t have hurt him. His face suddenly cleared and then dropped. ‘Oh.’

Melissa looked her son in the eye, knowing he was going to hate what she was about to say and prayed that he would finally listen to her. ‘I think Malia is right. She needs to find herself again, and you need to learn how to listen.’

‘Mom.’ Scott sighed. ‘You’re supposed to be on my side.’

She clenched her hand, stilling the urge to smack him upside his head again. He was her son and she loved him but sometimes he could be so goddamn stupid. ‘I am on your side, that’s why I’m telling you this and being honest with you. Scott, she can stay at your house and you can move back in here.’

Scott pulled a face. ‘Thanks mom, I appreciate the offer but I really don’t want to move back with my mom.’

Melissa chuckled and took a deep breath. That had gone a lot better than she had expected. He had listened to her, it seemed he had learnt a lot recently. It gave her hope. ‘You won’t be. Because I’ll be moving in with Noah.’ 

Scott blinked at her, wide eyed. ‘Huh? Really?’

Melissa nodded and kept her tone even and calm. ‘And we’re leaving Beacon Hills.’

Scott looked at her, the same expression in his face when he found out that Santa wasn’t real. She felt like the worst mother in the world.

  
  
  
  


‘Are you going to talk to me, or keep going through all of Derek’s cupboards?’ Peter asked, leaning against the door jamb.

Malia glanced back at him, feeling a smile pull at her lips. ‘Look at you, actually wanting to talk.’

Peter grinned. ‘Having the right pack does wonders for the soul.’

She sighed and sat at the large kitchen table. ‘When I broke up with Scott, I felt our pack bond break.’

Peter’s eyebrows rose. ‘You’re an omega now?’

Malia shrugged. There wasn’t any judgement in his tone, just curiosity and his scent was surprised. ‘We formed a pack bond before mine with Scott broke.’

‘That we did.’ Peter scrutinised her. ‘Did you know you were going to break up with him when you made one with me?’

Malia shook her head. She hadn’t even intentionally made one with him. She hadn’t known what she was feeling except relieved that someone seemed to understand and accept her. ‘Everything’s so confused. I don’t understand what’s happening. I feel lost, more so than I ever did when I lived in the preserve.’

‘Do you want to stay with Scott’s pack?’

Malia shrugged. She had no idea what she wanted. Did she want to stay here? Go back to being wild in the preserve? It really had been so much simpler then. Did she want to ask Stacey if she wanted company and leave with her? Although the last thing she ever wanted to happen was to end up like her mother. She thought a pack would be the answer to that.

What she really wanted, was to go with Stiles, but even she knew she couldn’t ask that of him. She would remind him too much of Scott and his betrayal. And it was a betrayal. She could see that now. It was why she didn’t stay at his last night when she so desperately wanted to. And Peter must have picked up on that and she was assuming that was why he had taken her home with him instead of her going with Stacey.

‘Has anyone said anything about the bond breaking?’

Malia shook her head. ‘No. But the bonds are tenuous at best.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Scott can’t feel them.’

‘W-What?’ Peter repeated. He looked like someone had just upended a piano on his head.

‘I didn’t realise he’d never felt them.’ Malia admitted, feeling small. ‘Natalie pointed it out. She’s looking into it.’

‘Scott doesn’t feel the pack bonds?’ Peter repeated, his scent was utterly shocked. ‘Do the others?’

Malia shook her head. ‘They said they didn’t. They didn’t even know they were a thing.’

Peter narrowed his eyes. ‘You don’t believe them.’

She sighed. It was hard to explain. ‘I do, but I don’t think they’re recognising what the bonds are, what they feel like and mislabelling them as something else.’

‘That could make sense. But it doesn’t answer the question: what do you want to do?’

Malia took a deep breath. ‘I think I want to leave but I don’t know where I want to go.’

‘You think?’

‘When I broke up with Scott, I went to Stacey, knowing that she had already decided to leave.’ When she thought about it, she didn’t know why she had gone to Stacey, sure they got on, but they weren’t exactly good friends. But she had still been the one that Malia had felt herself pulled to. 

Her instincts had told her to go to Stacey’s last night, until she had met up with her at Stiles’ house and then she had just wanted to stay. In hindsight, maybe seeing Derek’s pack and how they interacted with each other hadn’t been her best idea but after the fight she had needed pack around her and hadn’t wanted her own.

‘You think your instincts are telling you to leave?’

Malia shrugged again but also nodded. It made sense to her. ‘Yeah, either that or take over Stacey’s apartment when she goes.’

‘You’re keeping something back.’

Malia winced but nodded. She took a deep breath. ‘I want to go with Stiles.’

‘You know that Stiles is with Derek now?’

Malia glared at him. ‘Kinda hard to miss that. And I don’t mean like that.’

Peter nodded. ‘Well then, another option would be to ask to join my pack. Stiles is with Derek now, he’ll be around and you can figure things out with him.’

Malia huffed. She didn’t think she would ever forgive herself for not being there. And if she couldn’t forgive herself, how could Stiles? ‘Maybe. But I wasn’t there when he needed me.’

‘None of us were.’ Peter whispered before clearing his throat. ‘You get on well with Stacey?’

‘Yeah?’ She groaned loudly. ‘None of us really hang out as friends, apart from Mason Corey and Liam. And now Natalie.’ 

‘You need to figure out what you want Malia, not what anyone else wants, but what you want. You don’t need to decide right away, but know that I’ll support you in whatever you choose.’

‘Even if I choose to stay here and get back together with Scott?’

‘Have I not already been supporting you in that decision?’

Malia snorted. He really really had, even though she knew how much he disliked Scott. ‘Thanks Peter, I appreciate it.’

‘You can always come talk to me. I may be biased in my views, but I will never lie to you. And anyway as my daughter you are always to stay with me and my pack.’

Malia stared at him but he was grinning and nothing in his stance of scent said that he was joking. That sounded perfect, it would also give her time to find out how to apologise to Stiles and see if they could repair their friendship. To see if she could fit in with Cora and her pack without making any decisions she might later regret. And it would give her space to find herself again.

‘Malia.’ His voice softened and his scent went sad. ‘You are family. You are Cora and Derek’s cousin. If you want to stay with us for however long until you figure out what you want, you can.’

‘Really?’

Peter nodded, a wry smile on his face. ‘Just be prepared for Cora to interrogate you to make sure you aren’t telling Scott anything.’

Malia snorted but nodded. ‘Thanks. I’ll think about it. Can we talk about something else?’

‘Sure. Whatever you want.’

She grinned. He had always avoided her questions on his pack and had never, not once, given her a straight answer and after seeing them all together, she didn’t understand it. And technically he’d already brought up the subject. ‘What’s your pack like? You always avoid talking about them.’

Peter grinned. ‘That was because my pack hate your now ex boyfriend and don’t want him to know anything about them.’

Malia frowned, blinking. She had not expected that answer. ‘I didn’t realise it was that bad between them.’

‘Only because of what he did to Derek.’

She swallowed, dread filling her belly. ‘What did he do to Derek?’

When Peters scent turned angry and rotten, she knew she was going to hear something that would in all likelihood make her anger at Scott even worse. 

She just hoped it wouldn’t make her hate him. She wasn’t there yet, she was disappointed and furious with him and wanted to shake him until he finally saw the light and stopped being so idiotic. But his intentions had always been good, it was the planning and execution he sucked at.

  
  
  
  
  



	27. Chapter 27

  
  
  
  


‘Hey Ava.’ Mason grinned at her as she knocked on their hospital room door as she entered. 

Even though Corey knew she couldn’t heal him anymore, he still felt relief at seeing her. They were becoming friends and he would never be able to repay her for everything she had already done for him.

‘Heard you guys had an interesting fight.’ Corey offered up, smiling.

‘Yeah, it was fun.’ Ava grinned back at them, surprising Corey in how at ease she was seeing as the seer had taken away her powers.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ She waved her hand dismissively and sat down in the free chair next to his bed. ‘Derek was the one who was hurt, but Bart was great and came back to heal him.’

‘Bart?’ Corey quickly glanced at Mason but he didn’t seem to know who this Bart was either.

‘You would know him as the nemeton.’ Ava explained to them. ‘He’s having a little trouble acclimating to being back.’

‘He is?’

Ava nodded. ‘He’s been a tree for a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes off for a while.’

‘Really?’ Corey asked, his heart sinking. The likelihood of this Bart healing him were slowly diminishing even further than the tiny amount of hope that he had allowed himself.

Ava shrugged. ‘He’s a grown man who knows his options. He knows I’m here for him if he needs me.’

‘You’re a good friend Ava.’ Mason said and Corey could see he was forcing a smile.

Ava gave them both a weird look as she pulled her seat closer to Corey and placed her hand over his. ‘Okay. Anyway, sorry I missed last night, there was a lot going on.’

‘Would…’ Corey glanced at Mason in confusion. ‘Would you have been able to do anything?’

Ava grimaced and shrugged. ‘Enough. But I’m fine now.’

‘Wait, you can still heal me?’ Corey stared at her, hope clenching at his chest again making it hard to breathe. He’d thought he’d come to terms with being paralysed for the rest of his life, of learning how to get around in a wheelchair and to figure out how to use the toilet without help. He’d been wrong.

‘Ye-ah.’ Ava said slowly, looking confused before her expression cleared. She grinned. ‘The null bomb only lasts for a few hours, there’s no way to take away my powers indefinitely.’

Corey closed his eyes as he felt tears push at them. Mason wouldn’t have to help him shit for the rest of their lives.

‘Seriously?’ He could hear the relief in Mason’s voice. ‘Oh my God. Not that, not that we weren't worried about you.’

Ava laughed at Mason’s stuttering but Corey held his eyes closed while he desperately tried to breathe without bursting into tears. The need to be able to walk again, to be able to be independent, to feel the sun on his face without relying on others, was overwhelming.

‘Don’t worry guys, our deal still stands. I will continue to heal Corey slowly while I’m here.’

‘D-do you…?’ Mason paused and winced.

They’d planned on how to ask this and his husband was off to a terrible start.

Corey opened his eyes to see Ava’s raised eyebrow. He snorted, and his throat suddenly unclenched and he was able to speak again. ‘He’s trying to ask how long you think you’ll be here for?’

‘Oh.’ Ava looked surprised, as if she hadn’t considered when her and Stiles would be leaving. ‘Once Noah’s casts are off probably.’

Corey blinked as he realised that she hadn’t thought that far ahead.

‘Have you not healed him for the same reason? Because it would bring unwanted attention?’ Mason asked, trying for more information. 

Corey hadn’t even thought about why she hadn’t healed Noah. Although they had both tried researching what this unwanted attention was and hadn’t found anything, nor had they found anything on what a whisper was. They’d only found one single mention, more of a side note, on a whisper with a warning not to piss them off.

‘Oh Noah’s healed.’ Ava grinned at them. ‘Second I saw him but I completely forgot to tell him and he only found out a few days ago.’ She shook her head. ‘Melissa couldn’t understand why he was so fine hitting his leg off of everything!’

Mason blinked. 

Corey knew where he was coming from, he could understand why she was so familiar with the sheriff, what with him being Stiles’ dad, but Scott’s mom? How did she know Mrs McCall well enough to be on a first name basis with her? What didn’t they know? And why didn’t they know it? This was their alpha’s mother. Was Scott aware of this?

Ava shrugged as she continued. ‘So we’re just waiting for his last set of X-rays. I’ve left a tiny bit to make it look realistic, then I’ll heal the rest and he’ll be fine.’

Corey could understand that. As much as he wanted Ava to heal him right now, a broken leg was different to a broken spine and at least she had given them hope that he would be returned to a fully working healthy body eventually.

‘What happens after that?’ Mason asked.

‘What do you mean?’

‘When you go? What happens then? I’m guessing I’m not going to be fully healed?’ Corey asked.

‘Well, that’s up to you too.’ Ava started. ‘If you want me to completely heal you when I go, then you would need to leave and stay away and off the radar for at least a couple of years. No social media. We would perform a spell to ensure you stuck to our deal.’

Corey nodded and looked at Mason, feeling sick. He had no problem with the spell, he was still getting the better end of the deal, but… Beacon Hills was their home. Amanda was here and uprooting her would be an uphill battle; they still had the odd visits from social workers. Their family was here and Amanda’s friends were here. Their pack was here. They’d never wanted to live anywhere else, this was their home.

‘And if we want to stay?’ Mason asked, gripping his hand tightly.

‘Then I can’t heal you completely.’ Ava said.

Corey's heart sank. He tried to swallow but there was a lump in the way.

‘I. We understand.’ Mason nodded, blinking quickly.

‘But I can get you to a point where you will be able to heal. It will be a lot of hard work and persistence though.’

‘Really?’ Corey asked, suddenly feeling short on breath. ‘You can do that?’

Ava grinned wryly. ‘It’ll still be less work than if I didn’t do anything, but yes, I can, if that’s what you want. You don’t need to decide now. Think about it. You’ve got time.’

  
  
  
  


‘Two dozen eggs and a pack of bacon.’ Derek mumbled, frowning at the inside of the fridge. ‘A few tomatoes and mushrooms and plenty of salad.’

‘Bacon?’ Stiles almost squawked but he was trying to keep the volume down to not wake the sleeping pack up. ‘There shouldn’t be any bacon. Where did you find that?’

‘Hidden at the back. Ow.’ Derek glared at him when he smacked his shoulder.

‘Dad isn’t allowed bacon.’ Stiles scowled knowing full well he hadn’t hurt Derek.

‘How is that my fault?’ Derek grumbled.

Stiles sighed. ‘I really don’t want to go to the store.’

Derek shrugged. ‘Coffee’s on. Everybody will be hungry so someone will go.’

‘Oh coffee, the giver of life and maker of sense.’ Stiles sighed, staring lovingly at the machine as it ever so slowly percolated. ‘Please hurry up.’

Derek snorted, earning himself another smack before he moved behind Stiles and wrapped him in his arms. 

Stiles leant back, humming happily.

‘You’re happy this morning.’ Derek murmured into his ear.

Stiles hummed. ‘Of course I am. You didn’t die last night. Everyone we love is here, alive and happy.’

Derek raised an eyebrow. ‘True.’ 

‘Of course it’s true. I said it, therefore, it is the truth.’

Derek snorted.

‘What?’ Stiles flailed, wincing when his hand smacked one of the shelves. ‘I do not lie. Well, much and certainly never to you.’

Derek shook his head. ‘It’s not that.’

‘Then what?’ Stiles turned around, wrapping his arms around Derek's waist.

Derek raised an eyebrow.

‘Aw come on what?’ Stiles whined, tugging at his shirt that Derek had borrowed to sleep in.

Derek kissed him, pulling back before Stiles could get too into it. ‘Only you could end up best friends with a fallen angel.’

Stiles grinned, leaning in for another kiss, wondering how far they could take this before anyone else woke up. ‘It’s my sparkling personality and charm.’

Derek suddenly tensed.

Stiles punched his arm, mock scowling at him. ‘Hey, my personality is sparkling and awesome, isn’t that why we’re mates?’

Derek shook his head. ‘Scott’s approaching the front.’

Stiles frowned, glancing towards the lounge where the sleeping pack lay before pulling Derek through the house, opening the door before Scott could wake everyone up.

‘Hey man.’ Scott said awkwardly, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck.

‘Scott.’ Stiles said, standing in his doorway. He didn’t know what Scott was doing here or what he wanted, but he still had Cora’s pack, minus Peter, in his living room crashed out on the mattresses thrown together on the floor.

‘You okay after last night?’ Scott asked after a moment.

‘Yeah I am. You?’

Scott nodded, scrunching his nose up. ‘Ava doing okay?’

‘She’s fine.’

Scott nodded again. ‘I. I wanted to talk to Derek, apologise to him. I went round his house but Peter said he was here.’

Stiles nodded, glancing to Derek who had held back.

‘Scott.’ Derek stepped forward and Stiles slotted himself into his side hoping it would give him reassurance.

‘Derek.’ Scott winced and Stiles felt sorry for him. They were showing a united front against him but no matter how sorry Stiles felt for him, it didn’t change his position.

‘Why don’t you two go round the back, have some privacy.’ He looked up to Derek for his opinion.

Scott shook his head, then faltered. ‘Only if Derek wants to. I know I have a lot to apologise for and to amend.’

Derek lifted an eyebrow but nodded, he glanced at Stiles and indicated back into the house.

Stiles nodded.

‘You want a coffee?’ Derek asked Scott.

Scott smiled gratefully, nodding his head enthusiastically. ‘Yeah. Yeah I really would.’

Derek grabbed Stiles’ hand and led the way, through the front room full of sleeping, or now not so sleeping but glaring bodies and into the kitchen.

If Stiles didn’t know Derek he’d have thought it was deliberate, making Scott walk past a glaring Cora, Jackson and Ethan. The only ones not glaring at him were Isaac and Kira, whose expressions were kept blank although they still watched him pass quietly. Danny didn’t glare either, although he was still asleep, wrapped around Isaac.

Lydia and Jordan had used the spare bedroom upstairs and he assumed his dad and Mel were still in his dad’s makeshift bedroom. Stiles still hadn’t gotten used to that. How the hell had his dad kept that quiet from him for so long? He’d been trying to set them up for years as a kid and had finally given up. Stands to reason that they get together now.

Stiles instantly started preparing the coffee machine, and for more than just the three of them. As much as he hoped the others would take the hint and head out to a coffee shop, he knew they would all be listening in, wanting to hear exactly how Scott would apologise.

Stiles couldn’t blame them, Scott’s track record for apologies was awful. He always made excuses and threw the blame off of himself. But the fact that Scott had turned up here was making Stiles wonder if he had improved. If in the time they’d been apart he’d learnt how to take some responsibility.

As much as Stiles didn’t think Malia would put up with it, she had changed too in the time he had been gone. She was still brash, but not as outspoken in everything like she used to be. And last night had been a bit of an eye opener into their relationship. Although he really could have done without knowing half the amount of details he now knew about Scott’s sexual habits.

‘Derek, I treated you horribly and I am so, so sorry.’ Scott started while Stiles still had his back turned. He could imagine that was deliberate so he carried on, keeping his back to them while Scott apologised as he set about making coffee for the thirteen people in his house and for the three that he could imagine would soon turn up.

He knew that Ava had gone to visit Corey and Mason and had no doubt that Peter’s curiosity would win in the end and he’d be over with Malia to find out what Scott wanted.

Derek was silent and Stiles could imagine that he had probably just nodded at Scott’s statement.

‘I know that there is nothing I can do to make up for it and that you probably don’t want anything to do with me.’ Scott carried on. Stiles was impressed and could only guess that he’d gotten pointers from Melissa sometime. ‘But if there’s anything I can do, I will do it. I should never have said what I said. I regret it all. I can see now how good you and Stiles are together and how much you mean to each other. You’re a good man Derek and I wish I had seen that earlier.’

Derek cleared his throat. ‘Thank you Scott. I appreciate that.’

Stiles took the opportunity to turn around and go to Derek. He looked just like Stiles had imagined he would, like he was sucking lemons. He wrapped his arm around Derek’s shoulder and wasn’t surprised when Derek leant into him, gripping his hip just a little too tightly.

‘Thanks Scotty.’ Stiles said softly. ‘It means a lot that you did this.’

‘I really am sorry. To both of you. I hurt you both. I should never have listened to Chris.’

‘I think it’s safe to say that Chris deceived all of us. But you should have listened to your instincts Scott.’ Stiles allowed.

Scott grimaced. ‘Yeah but I think my instincts are screwed up. I never do the right thing, no matter how badly I try to.’

‘You don’t see the bigger picture. There are consequences to every action, but they’ve never affected you before, it’s always been someone else paying the price.’ Stiles told him quietly.

‘And now I’m paying for that.’ Scott agreed just as quietly. ‘I wish things had been different.’

Stiles shrugged. ‘If wishes were dollars.’

Scott sighed and clutched his coffee closer to him. ‘You know, when we were growing up, I wished our parents would get together so we could really be brothers, and now that they are, we’re not brothers any more.’

‘Life has a way of getting in the way of things.’ Stiles agreed. ‘And the beauty of life is that with effort you can change the things you don’t like.’

‘D-do you think we can get back to the way things were?’ Scott asked looking small and awkward and nervous.

‘No.’ Stiles shook his head, too much had happened between them and he didn’t know if he would ever be able to trust Scott with anything anymore. ‘But if we were both willing to put the effort in, I don’t see why we couldn’t be friends.’

Scott looked at him hopefully, his puppy eyes on full display. ‘I’m willing. Are you?’

Stiles winced. He had walked right into that one, actually he’d set himself up for that one. ‘I don’t know.’

  
  
  
  


‘So what happens now?’

Lydia kept her face blank but allowed her eyes to soften. They were still in bed in Noah’s spare room. It was early but she’d already heard people up and moving. She knew she should get up too but she was enjoying being here with Jordan. She didn’t know how much longer she would have this with him.

And that was the question that had been plaguing her for a while. She didn’t like not having answers. ‘I don’t know.’

Jordan seemed to consider that. ‘Now that the vampires and seer are dead, how long are you staying?’

Lydia smiled at him. He was pulling out all the hard questions this morning, but she really couldn’t blame him, not if he felt the same way she did, and she had a very good feeling that he did. ‘I didn’t come back for them. I came back for Stiles.’

Jordan frowned. ‘So, you’re not hightailing it out of here?’

She smirked and kissed him gently on his lips. ‘Not just yet, no.’

‘How long do you think you’ll stay?’

Lydia shrugged. ‘How long will Scott continue to be a dim witted cretin?’ Jordan snorted. ‘I have no definite plans to leave and can work from anywhere for awhile. I will have to return home eventually though.’

‘And you won’t make Beacon Hills your home.’ Jordan stated, his face blank but she could see the sadness in his eyes.

Lydia shook her head. She wouldn’t lie to him, she would never move back here. ‘No. I won’t. And you won’t leave Beacon Hills.’

Jordan frowned. ‘I’ve always felt myself pulled towards here and once I got here, I never wanted to leave.’

‘The nemeton.’ Lydia realised, it made sense. Everything he had done when he’d first arrived here and his hellhound powers had made them known, it had all centred around the nemeton. He’d covered up the evidence of the supernatural and taken it all to the nemeton.

‘But recently I’ve felt pulled in two different directions and now I don’t feel connected to Beacon Hills like I did yesterday.’ Jordan admitted, looking lost. ‘I, it’s disconcerting.’

‘Because of Ava.’ Lydia murmured. Jordan’s reactions around Ava were beginning to make sense. Even she’d noticed that he never questioned Ava and went along with her happily. Because he was a hellhound and they were used to taking orders from an angel.

The realisation gave her hope though. There was no longer an angel in Beacon Hills calling to him. She needed to speak to Ava.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Stiles, while we’re alone.’ Derek scrunched his face up, but kept hold of Stiles’ arm. He looked adorably constipated. Stiles didn’t even realise that was a thing but he was finding if Derek did it, he’d find it appealing somehow.

‘Ooh I like where this is going.’ Stiles said, waggling his eyebrows. Why was he waggling his eyebrows? He knew it wasn’t sexy. And Derek apparently wasn’t even finding it endearing.

He knew it was a good plan of his to volunteer going breakfast shopping while the others slowly roused themselves. It gave him more alone time with Derek. Not that they were actually alone in the middle of the grocery store, but there were no prying werewolf ears.

‘No, yes. Kind of. Erm. Is.’ Derek groaned. ‘I don’t know how to talk about this.’

Stiles frowned, going from amused to alarmed in a second. He put the packet of rice down and gave Derek his full attention. ‘Talk about what?’

Derek sighed and took a deep breath. ‘That first night, when you stayed over. You told the others we wouldn’t be having sex.’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles said slowly, frowning wondering where Derek was going with this and why he was so serious. ‘And we didn’t.’

Derek huffed and glared at him. ‘I know. I was there.’

‘Uhuh.’ Stiles nodded. He desperately wanted to say more but was learning that he needed to give Derek time to get his words so that he’d talk.

‘Did you mean…? Are we… Is that a…’ Derek growled. ‘I thought it meant you were asexual.’

‘Oh. Oh!’ Stiles exclaimed, feeling his eyes widen. Shit, he’d never meant to give Derek that impression. He’d thought the reason why Derek hadn’t tried going any further was left over trauma from his past relationships. ‘No. No, no. Nooooo. I’m not. All for the sex. All the sex. With you. For you all the sex with you. Me. I am. I mean. I mean I am all for having sex with you. Whenever you want. Now if you want. Well not now as we’re in public. But yes. I want to have sex with you. In future. When you’re ready. When we’re ready. In all the positions, any of the positions in fact. I’m fine with positions, enjoy all the positions. You’re gonna have to stop me. I have no control.’

Derek quickly slotted his mouth over Stiles’ and he sighed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Derek and practically melting into him when Derek brought his arms up around stiles.

‘I just assumed but then you said about sleeping with that guy from the Sousa pack…’ Derek trailed off, looking down as his ear tips turned pink.

‘Aww.’ Stiles exclaimed, feeling something warm give in his chest. ‘No. Bad Stiles. I should have explained. Sorry. I just wasn’t ready then. That night, I mean. It was a lot and I’d already fucked up by leaving you. I wanted our first time together to be special and not because I was an idiot who didn’t understand.’ Stiles sighed and tried to get a hold of his rambling mouth. ‘Derek. I’m serious about us, serious about you and if you haven’t realised that I am completely in love with you then we need to have a serious talk.’

Derek stared at him, suddenly looking scared and extremely young. How the hell did he do that? ‘You love me?’

Stiles felt his mouth drop open. He knew it wasn’t attractive so dropped his head against Derek’s chest and whimpered. He sounded rather pathetic. He looked back up so Derek could see just how sincere he was. ‘Derek. I love you. Do you have any idea how terrified I was when you got attacked by that vampire?’

Derek blinked.

‘Derek I couldn’t function. I didn’t know what to do. All I could think about was losing you and how unfair it was. We’ve only just found each other again and I plan on spending the rest of our, hopefully very long, lives together.’

Derek looked hopeful. ‘You do?’

‘Of course I do!’ Stiles pulled his face towards him and kissed him. ‘Derek, you are perfect. And I don’t just mean your looks which are a very definite bonus, but everything about you. Even your goddamn martyr complex. I hate it. But because it’s who you are I also love it. You always look out for others, even if you don’t like them. How many times did you save me when I was a teenager even though you couldn’t stand me? Not even Scott saved me the amount of times you did and he was my best bud.’

‘I love you too.’ Derek said quietly, a small smile on his face.

Stiles grinned back, giving him a quick chaste peck. ‘I may not know how you like your eggs in the morning, or if the fact that you’ve aggressively snuggled me every night is just how you sleep or if you sing while in the shower or if your farts are silent but violent or the loud non stinky kind, but I promise you Derek, I will find out, because I love you and I want you and I want this.’

Derek glared at him. ‘Seriously? Farting.’

‘And I do want to have sex with you. I want to find out all your kinks, I want to see you naked, I want you to see me naked. I want to explore every inch of you and have you do the same to me. I’ve never bottomed, never trusted anyone enough to, but I want to try with you.’

‘Y-you do?’

‘I do. Derek, the last relationship I was in was with Lydia. She was the last person I slept with that I trusted. Everyone since was a one night stand.’ Stiles sighed and closed his eyes, unable to look at Derek while he said this. ‘I do still have nightmares. Still have issues, have things I’m not comfortable with or just plain can’t do.’

He felt a finger under his chin lift his head up and opened his eyes to Derek right in front of him.

‘You’re not the only one.’ Derek admitted. ‘I do too. There are things that I can't stand either, things that I avoid or won’t discuss.’

‘Oh yeah? Like what?’ Stiles hiccuped, feeling tears press at his eyes. He knew if was the relief, relief that Derek had accepted this part of him, hadn’t made him feel less for it.

Derek shrugged. ‘I have flashbacks when I see handcuffs. I don’t have an open fireplace in my home because it scares me. I don’t like candles. I’ve never been to a pool since that night you held me afloat. I have nightmares too.’

‘Just so you know, what with being a werewolf and liking to mark your territory. I have trouble with that.’ Stiles admitted, trying not to squirm. ‘I can’t handle hickey’s or being marked up. They remind me of being… well. So no rough play. Or bondage. I just. No.’

Derek snorted and smiled. ‘I can handle that. I can’t stand to have people lick my stomach. And a definite no to the bondage from me too. Again flashbacks. And...’

‘And what?’ Stiles asked when Derek trailed off. He frowned when he realised Derek was blushing. ‘Derek, you can tell me anything.’

‘No leaving me afterwards.’ Derek rushed out, his eyes looking everywhere but at Stiles.

Stiles felt his heart break. He kissed Derek’s cheek. ‘I promise. No leaving.’

Derek turned back to face him, Stiles couldn’t believe how insecure he looked. He hated it. ‘Promise?’

‘I promise. Not ever.’ Stiles kissed him again, this time on the lips, and again when Derek began to respond. ‘Not for as long as you want me.’

Stiles frowned when Derek stopped kissing him.

‘Stiles.’ Derek frowned at him, looking adorably confused. ‘You’re my mate. I will always want you.’

Stiles winced. ‘Look, I know I can be a lot okay? And just because I’m your mate doesn’t mean we’ll last.’

‘What do you mean?’ Derek frowned at him.

Stiles shrugged. ‘Look at Lydia and Jackson, they were mates.’

Derek raised an eyebrow.

Stiles winced. Eyebrow disappointment. How they hell did Derek do that?

‘They were also a lot younger. Neither of them knew what they wanted.’ Derek said.

‘And, and you do?’ Stiles accidentally whispered, he’d meant it to come out more confident than what it had sounded. But then, he wasn’t at all confident, what if it didn’t work out between them? What if he fucked it up? What if he wasn’t enough? Derek was everything and deserved everything. He was just Stiles. The stupid spastic spaz who always got beaten up and forgotten about.

‘I do. As long as you do. I know I’m a fuck up.’

‘Wait, what?’ Stiles blinked. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Stiles.’ Derek sighed and seemed to be hunch in on himself. ‘I trusted the wrong person and got my whole family killed.’

‘Not all of them.’ Stiles reminded him quietly. ‘And trust is never a bad thing. That wasn’t you who got them killed, none of that was your fault. You were innocent and Kate took that from you.’

Derek shrugged. ‘I still killed my first girlfriend.’

‘No, that was Ennis. And Peter being a manipulative arse.’ Stiles sighed. ‘Look Derek, I know I’ve told you this. And I will happily tell you this as many times as it’s needed. But none of that makes you a fuck up.’

Derek nodded and took a deep breath. ‘So, so you’re not disgusted to be my mate?’

Stiles stared at him as horror filled him. ‘Why the hell would you think that? What have I done to make you think that?’

Derek looked stricken. ‘No! No you haven’t done anything, it’s just…’

Stiles took a deep breath and forcefully pushed his own fears aside. This seemed to be a fear of Derek’s, not something that Stiles himself had done. And if he wanted them to work, wanted them to even have a chance, he needed to get to the bottom of this. ‘Derek, did someone say this to you before?’

Derek nodded wordlessly.

Stiles closed his eyes, trying not to let his anger show at that. He did not want Derek misconstruing what he was feeling. Derek tensed and Stiles knew he had failed. ‘I am so angry at whatever bastard said that to you. And when I’m more level headed and not liable to go and kill that person I will ask you who it was.’

‘It was Kate. She’s already dead.’ Derek promptly told him.

Stiles breathed out, mainly relieved that it hadn’t been Scott. There would never have been any coming back from that. ‘She had better be in hell. Ava will make sure she is.’ He smiled and pulled Derek closer to him. ‘When we get back to the car, I am going to show exactly how I feel about you. So come on, we need to finish this shop.’

Derek’s eyes flashed with worry before they relaxed and he grinned at him. Stiles would bet his last cent that Derek had smelt his arousal and could pretty much guess where Stiles was going with this.

‘Maybe we could detour back to mine instead?’

Stiles snorted as he started grabbing anything he could see off the shelves. ‘Only if you want your uncle and cousin watching.’

Derek scrunched his face up. ‘I’d forgotten they’d gone back there.’

‘Well, I think there’s a lot that I need to convince you off.’ Stiles grinned. ‘Might as well start in front of everyone.’

Derek scrunched his nose up. ‘Convince me of what?’

Stiles grinned, gave him a quick forceful kiss and grabbed his hand, tugging him down the aisle throwing in everything that caught his fancy. ‘Come on, lets go make everyone an awesome breakfast, my very own wolf who speaks in eyebrows.’

‘What.’

‘Yeah I know. I heard it too. I’ll work on it.’ Stiles sighed. ‘Come on, love of my life.’

Derek stumbled.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Scott.’ Malia bit the words out, desperately trying not to shift and attack him. She would not lose control, that was why she had waited to go back to their old house to confront him. 

‘Malia.’ He grinned, his eyes lighting up and happiness seeping out of him.

‘Tell me it isn’t true.’

He frowned at her. ‘What isn’t true?’

‘Tell me. You didn’t know how Derek felt about Stiles and blackmailed him into kicking him out the pack.’ She only just got the words out through her clenched teeth. Maybe she should have waited more than a couple hours.

While she had been the one to end things between them, a small part of her had thought that given time and Scott showed that he could change, then they would get back together. But not if this was true, if this was true then she was leaving and never coming back.

Scott’s scent changed to despair and regret and she had her answer. 

She felt as if she’d been punched. She tried to swallow but couldn’t, her claws elongating out of her fingers as she tried to breathe through her anger and pain. It took her a moment until she was able to speak. ‘I didn’t want to believe it. The Scott I know, the Scott I fell in love with could be an oblivious idiot thinking that he knew best but I never, NEVER, thought you could be so vindictive and malicious.’

‘Malia, I’m sorry. I was an idiot. I spoke to Derek this morning and apologised. I should never have done or said any of that and I regret it so so much.’

Malia stared at him, tears pushing at her eyes, anger coursing through her. She could smell his regret, his sorrow and shame, but that didn’t change the fact that he had done it. She needed to run, to shift into her coyote and run until she didn’t feel anything again. ‘Derek may forgive you, but I don’t.’

She turned around, struggling out of her light coat as she headed straight for the preserve.

‘Malia.’ Scott called. 

She felt his hand on her arm but she renched herself free and began running. She didn’t trust herself not to attack him. And if she did that, she wasn’t sure she would ever return to being human. As it was she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Peter would hear her call, and make sure she returned to herself.

She may have never called him father, but he had an uncanny back of knowing exactly what she needed. It may not be what she wanted, but it was always what she needed, whether she knew it or not.

And right now, she needed to run, to allow her coyote free rein.

  
  
  
  


‘I get what pack bonds are supposed to do.’ Liam scrunched up his nose and Natalie couldn’t help leaning forward and kissing it. ‘But what do they feel like?’ 

‘There’s no set feeling, I can’t tell you that they feel like a certain substance because they change depending on your relationship with that person.’ Natalie explained. She had worried that Liam would see her differently once she finally joined his pack but he hadn’t. Nor did he have any problems with taking direction from her, which she had already known, but it was nice to have it confirmed. ‘But, for someone that you love and trust, it should feel like warmth, home, safety.’

Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His back straightened and his head tilted. She smiled as she watched him, the way his forehead crinkled in concentration and his nose scrunched up as he sniffed. His head tilting to one side as he embraced the wolf within him. She had been right in joining, Scott may have his issues, but she wanted to marry Liam. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him and have children with him. While he could have joined her pack, something in her had told her it wouldn’t be the best decision. That while they would have made it work, this way was the better way for them. And she always listened to her instincts, it had been those instincts stopping her from joining for so long. But now it was time.

‘It might feel like emotions or things that you relate to that person.’ She added softly while he tried to search out his bonds. She could feel her bond to him and the pack, there was no reason why he shouldn’t feel them either.

A slow smile crossed his face. ‘So for example you might feel like sunshine and thunder, peonies and hazelnut coffee.’

Natalie couldn’t help the snort that left her. He’d found his pack bond to her. Her dad had also told her she felt like sunshine and thunder. That the thunder was part of her witch essence and inability to take any bullshit. But peonies were her favourite flowers, and she couldn’t operate until after she’d had her coffee, preferably hazelnut flavoured.

Liam breathed out a sigh of relief. ‘And Mason feels like chocolate and freshly cut grass.’ He frowned. ‘And puppies and gummy bears.’

Natalie laughed. ‘Probably because of Amanda. What about Corey?’

Liam nodded. ‘Puppies and gummy bears again, but also oranges and rain.’

‘Brilliant and Malia?’

Liam frowned. ‘I can’t find Malia.’

‘That’s okay, we’ll go back to her. Scott?’ Natalie wasn’t worried, he’d find Malia, he was doing brilliantly finding the others so easily. It warmed her, knowing that he had listened to her and that she had been the one to teach him this, to introduce him to something new and wonderful about himself.

‘Puppies, lots and lots of puppies and marshmallows. Clouds? And fruit loops?’

Natalie snorted. ‘Oh God, really?’

Liam opened his eyes and stared at her. ‘How the hell is clouds a smell?’

Natalie shook her head as she tried to keep from laughing. ‘No no no, keep concentrating. Find Stacey.’

Liam sighed, closed his eyes and promptly winced. ‘Disinfectant, blue, lavender and summer.’

That made sense, Stacey was a doctor after all. ‘Terry?’

‘Books, dust and cedarwood.’

‘Joanna?’

‘Strawberries, wool and frankincense.’

‘Ben?’

‘Paint chips, cotton and candy.’

‘And Malia?’

Liam frowned again. ‘I still can’t find her.’

Natalie sighed. It was annoying that he couldn’t find Malia but it didn’t mean she was any less proud of him. ‘Well, with the exception of Malia, you’ve got it.’

Liam groaned. ‘But if you’ve taught me, you can teach Scott right?’

Natalie winced. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to Scott about it yet, but it would not work the same for him. He had a different reason for not feeling the bonds. Liam and the rest of the pack had been feeling them, they just hadn’t known what they were. Scott couldn’t feel them for an entirely different reason. ‘It’s not going to be that easy for Scott.’

‘What? why not?’

‘I think there’s a block, a reason why he can’t feel the pack bonds.’ Natalie sighed. She needed to somehow dismantle that block and she was afraid it was too big a job for her. ‘And it’s going to take a lot more than me describing what he should be feeling for him to find them. That should have been natural for him to look for them when he became alpha, exactly like the need to make his own pack was.’

‘So what happens if Scott can’t feel the pack bonds?’

Natalie shrugged and leaned into Liam’s embrace, instinctively seeking comfort. ‘I don’t know. We keep trying I guess.’

  
  
  
  


‘Did you guys buy out the store?’ Cora asked, a smile covering her face. ‘Because I approve. Wholeheartedly.’

Stiles beamed at the compliment. Even when he’d been a part of Scott’s pack, he’d never been complimented so casually before, but then, they had all been teenagers only concerned with themselves and the next big bad.

‘Same.’ Noah said, eyeing up the bacon. ‘As long as I get to eat a bit of everything.’

Stiles narrowed his eyes and waved the spatula at his dad sending sizzling hot fat flying everywhere. ‘Only in moderation. And only one slice of bacon!’

‘Not everyone has werewolf healing Stiles.’ Lydia reminded him as she entered the kitchen.

He grimaced and returned the spatula to the pan. ‘Sorry Lyds.’

‘But thank you for breakfast.’ She relented, giving him a soft smile.

‘Sourwolf supervised.’ Stiles beamed, feeling happy and content. It had been a long time since he had been so at ease being surrounded by so many people. He’d missed it.

‘I cooked most of this!’ Derek protested.

‘Isn’t he amazing?’ Stiles winked at Lydia who shook her head in amusement.

Derek stared at Stiles as if he’d never seen him before.

Cora snorted.

‘If you start telling how good he is in bed, I’m leaving.’ Jackson said as he helped himself to the coffee.

‘I second that.’ Noah said, his gaze immediately leaving the bacon and instead eyeing his son.

Stiles shrugged. ‘Honestly I…’

Derek slapped his hand over Stiles’ mouth before he could say anything more. Stiles eyed Derek and grinned, wondering how he’d take it and if he could get away with sucking one of Derek’s fingers into his mouth.

He really didn’t think his dad would approve, but more importantly, he really didn’t want his father to witness it.

‘So Stiles, Ava tells me you live in New Orleans?’ Cora asked, thankfully changing the subject.

Derek dropped his hand and grabbed the spatula Stiles had abandoned, Stiles wasn’t sure if he was pleased about that or not but he leant against his back anyway as Derek continued with the cooking.

Stiles nodded. ‘Oh yeah, the big easy, the city that care forgot, home of the Mardi Gras, the spooky city of Louisiana, the voodoo centre of the world. Did you know it’s been described as the most unique city in the whole of the United States? It’s why we chose to move there. It’s also named after a Duke, but that had nothing to do with our choice.’ 

‘And the fact that it has one of the highest and most consistent murder rates in the whole of the United States had nothing to do with it did it?’ Noah asked.

‘Nope. Not a thing.’ Stiles said quickly shovelling food into his mouth as quickly as he could and burning the roof of his mouth. He coughed and guzzled water down, feeling it drip down the sides of his mouth as he swallowed.

Derek snorted. ‘You’re disgusting.’

‘Hey, you love this.’

‘Dunno why.’ Derek frowned at him.

Stiles beamed and struggled to swallow another mouthful. Derek may have a point. ‘Maybe because you’ve witnessed that I can swallow a large load.’

Derek turned pink, almost choking as he inhaled.

‘Stiles!’ Noah barked.

Stiles winced. ‘Sorry, shit. Sorry, I forgot you were here.’

Noah sighed noisily. ‘I really did not need to know that about my son.’

Stiles grinned. ‘Hey, you’re the one moving in with me.’

‘I’m rethinking it.’ Noah glared at him.

‘What about you Lydia? Where do you live?’ Cora asked, changing the subject effectively. Again. Since when had she become the peace maker in all this?

‘Mainly Martha’s vineyard, but I have a place in palm beach as well.’ Lydia shrugged. 

Derek frowned. ‘Neither of them are near New Orleans.’

Stiles sighed dreamily and batted his eyelashes at Derek. ‘I love a man who knows his geography.’

Derek glowered at him, but his ears were pink and he kissed the edge of Stiles’ forehead.

‘We visit.’ Lydia smiled.

‘Regularly.’ Stiles nodded. ‘It’s nice.’

‘Not as nice as living in the same area but our work took us to different areas.’

‘Technically, we can now work wherever we want to.’

Lydia nodded. ‘We’ve been talking about finding somewhere close to each other but we’ve never managed to decide on a location. As much as I love New Orleans, I do not want to live there.’

‘Same with Palm Beach and Martha’s vineyard.’

‘I could live in Martha’s vineyard.’ Jackson interrupted.

‘They look down on howling at the moon.’ Stiles told him.

‘Seriously?’ Jackson frowned unhappily.

Stiles shrugged. ‘Who knows? They're all rich and well mannered and hate me.’

Jackson snorted. ‘That I can understand. What about you Jordan? You still planning on sticking around here?’

Jordan shrugged. ‘That was the plan, but I don’t know any more.’

‘Ah.’ Ava winced from the doorway. ‘That’s probably my fault.’

‘What do you mean?’

Ava smiled. ‘You’re a hellhound, you felt something pulling you here yeah? And now it’s gone?’

Jordan nodded. ‘How’d you know?’

Stiles shovelled some more food into his mouth, stealing some of the bacon off of his dad’s plate and putting it on Derek’s.

‘Hellhounds are loyal to us, to whisper’s. You were drawn to the nemeton because he was a whisper. Now that he's gone, so has the pull.’

Jordan blinked.

Ava winced, looking apologetic. ‘It’s also why you will always take my word for something without ever questioning it.’

‘So, you no longer want to stay here?’ Lydia asked, suddenly standing still and looking at Jordan intensely.

Jordan shrugged and looked around at everyone. ‘I kinda want to see where this goes with us.’

‘Maybe we can find somewhere we both want to live.’ Lydia smiled.

Jordan beamed at her. ‘I’d really like that.’

‘Just so you know, we live in Colorado.’ Cora put into the mix.

Stiles froze. Colorado. He’d only been there the once, but it had seemed nice. Now it was looking a whole lot nicer. 

Ava looked to Stiles. ‘I hear it’s nice there.’

Stiles grinned back. ‘Yeah, I’ve been feeling a little stale in New Orleans, maybe its time for a move.’

‘Where abouts in Colorado?’ Lydia asked narrowing her eyes.

‘Rocky Mountain National Park.’ Cora replied promptly.

‘Denver.’ Jackson answered and then grinned widely, smirking at Cora. ‘I like city life.’

‘The rest of us don’t.’ Cora said dryly, sending him a glare which was ruined by the smile on her face.

Stiles raised an eyebrow at Ava and she grinned back at him. He nodded. They could figure out a way.

  
  
  
  



	28. Chapter 28

‘Found anything out about why Scott can’t feel any pack bonds?’ Mason asked. Probably to break the awkward tension. Nothing had been said for a few minutes but there was no way that Malia was breaking the silence. The pack had gathered in Corey’s hospital room again and at least now the staff were getting used to them. 

Malia didn’t want to have anything more to do with Scott but couldn’t help feel a frisson of interest in Mason’s question. She still wasn’t sure why she had come, she had broken her pack bonds with them, not that any of them had felt or even realised that. She knew she had to tell them, but she really wasn’t looking forward to seeing the fallout of it. While they may not be as close as Cora’s pack was, she was still friends with them, well, with some of them. And she owed it to them to tell them.

Seeing how close Cora and her pack were had made her chest ache when she had compared Scott to Cora. She hadn’t had to dig deep to see the differences, they'd been obvious. She didn’t know how none of them had seen it before. The McCall pack were not a family, whereas the Hale pack very clearly was. Even with Danny and Isaac. It was clear that Isaac would not be joining Scott’s pack and Malia would not be surprised to find that Stiles, Ava and possibly Kira had already joined Cora’s pack. If they hadn’t already then she doubted it would be long until they did.

Natalie winced. ‘Possibly, I need to speak to Scott about a few things but I think I know what might have happened.’

While Malia may no longer be with Scott and hate him for what he did to Stiles and Derek, it didn’t mean that her feelings for him had just disappeared. As much as she hated it and wanted to deny it, she still loved him, and if Natalie had found a way to help him become a better werewolf and alpha, then Malia was happy for him and the rest of the pack. Even if she also wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time. It was very confusing feeling both emotions at the same time.

Scott frowned. ‘No, it-it’s fine Natalie.’ He took a deep breath. ‘This is, I. I don’t want any more secrets. I don’t want this kept from anyone.’

Malia raised an incredulous eyebrow but still refused to look at him. She knew her emotions would get the better of her and she would do something she would possibly later regret. Well, someone would regret it even if she doubted it would be her.

Peter had indeed come to find her in the preserve. It had taken her almost an entire day before she had howled for him, before she had broken down and called for help. And he had come. He had sat with her for hours until she had finally shifted back and then he had held her while she cried.

He wouldn’t regret her attacking Scott either.

Natalie nodded. ‘I spoke to my father about it and his pack elders. They got back to me this morning. They think there may have been a few contributing factors.’

‘Contributing factors?’ Scott asked faintly.

Malia frowned, she hadn’t been around when Scott had been changed, but Stiles had told her all about it, that it was Peter who had bitten him and Scott had been unwilling and unaware of the supernatural. She knew Peter had been a crazy murderous arsehole back then, but he wasn’t like that now. Hell, even six or eight years ago she wouldn’t have said she liked him. But he had changed, and she now knew that change to have come from being accepted into Cora’s pack. She knew there was more to the story, that it can’t have just been that easy. It was Peter after all.

Natalie nodded. ‘At first they thought it might have been because Dr Deaton turned you into a true alpha through magical means, but you still should have felt pack bonds before that.’

Malia could easily believe that Deaton would have had something to do with it, that he’d somehow screwed up the spell. It was actually a surprise that he wasn’t at fault, not that he had ever screwed up a spell to her knowledge but he had instigated everything by abandoning Derek and turning Scott into a so called true alpha.

She couldn’t help but turn to see how Scott was reacting to this.

Scott looked at Natalie, trepidation written all over his face. ‘I should have?’

Natalie looked at him sympathetically. ‘Yes you should have. So, I need to ask, how did you take to becoming a werewolf?’

Scott shrugged looking at her blankly. ‘It was great.’

Malia scrunched up her nose. That was not what Stiles had told her. He’d fought it every step of the way and had even attacked Stiles. And Scott’s heart had been steady, he hadn’t been lying, was that a way around lying? Convincing yourself that it was the truth?

Natalie frowned. ‘I thought you were bitten against your will?’

‘Well, yeah.’ Scott flushed. ‘What does that have to do with it?’

‘So you were happy to be a werewolf?’ Natalie pushed. ‘You didn’t reject the wolf at any point.

Oh. Malia blinked. She was beginning to see exactly what had happened.

Scott grimaced. ‘Well, yeah, kinda. I suppose? I’d met Allison at the same time, and well, her family were werewolf hunters…’

He trailed off.

Natalie glared at him. ‘You need to answer me honestly Scott.’

‘Sorry.’ He winced and embarrassment flooded off of him. ‘I’d kinda forgotten that.’

‘Well, think back and remember. How long did you struggle against your wolf for?’

‘A while? Maybe a year or two?’

Stiles had glossed over that, but denying yourself for that long? Even if Malia hadn’t lived as a coyote for so long, even she would have known that would leave a lasting effect.

‘You fought against being a werewolf?’ Natalie pushed. Malia admired her restraint, there was only a faint scent of annoyance coming off of her.

‘Well, yeah, it was ruining my life.’ Scott said as if it was obvious. ‘Allison’s family were trying to kill me. I didn’t want to be a werewolf, I wanted to be human.’

Natalie nodded and her scent changed to relief. ‘You suppressed your wolf, which in turn suppressed your pack bonds.’

And there it was. Malia internally sighed, the only one to blame was Scott himself. It made her sad all over again.

Scott frowned. ‘But I’ve accepted my wolf since then.’

Natalie shrugged. ‘That clearly doesn’t matter. Seeing as you still can’t feel the pack bonds.’

He looked at her helplessly. ‘So what do we do?’

Malia really wasn’t interested in this bit. It didn’t concern her seeing as she wouldn’t be sticking around to see it.

Natalie winced. ‘My dad and the elders didn’t know. The elders suggested that we ask Ava, she might know.’

‘Ava?’ Scott looked like someone had just kicked him.

‘Yes, but first I need to find out if anyone else in the pack can feel the bonds.’ Natalie said, looking expectantly around the rest of the wolves in the pack. ‘After discussing it with Liam, he can now feel them, he hadn't realised what they were. Chances are everyone else is already or has at some point been feeling them but don’t know what they are.’

Liam grimaced. ‘Yeah and now that I’m aware, I’m actually feeling weird about Theo dying even though I’m relieved he isn’t pack anymore.’

Malia blinked. She’d always felt them but she certainly didn’t feel bad about Theo.

Scott winced. ‘You guys really didn’t like Theo.’

‘Couldn’t stand him.’ Stacey admitted. ‘I want to know what pack bonds feel like but full disclosure, I’m not staying. I’m leaving the pack.’

‘Wait, what?’ Scott stared at her, full puppy eyes on display. Malia did not envy Stacey that look.

‘Ow.’ Liam winced as he rubbed at his chest. ‘Christ Stacey.’

Malia smiled, recognising that he’d felt the pack bond break at Stacey’s words.

Joanna gasped. ‘What the hell was that?’

‘That was the pack bond breaking.’ Malia stated. She’d wait for them to recover and then tell them her bond with them had already broken and that she was leaving.

‘Ah, shit!’ Terry fell down to one knee. He had been slightly closer to Stacey than the rest.

‘Now that you know what it is, it becomes more intense.’ Natalie explained.

‘Wait.’ Liam frowned. ‘I’ve felt something else like that recently.’

Natalie stepped closer to him, looking worried. ‘You’ve felt a bond break recently?’

‘I didn’t feel anything.’ Scott stared at Malia worried. ‘Did you feel it?’

Malia shook her head. ‘No, but my pack bond broke when we broke up. Probably what Liam felt.’

‘What?’ Scott stared, horrified. ‘Are you leaving too?’

Malia glared. ‘After what you did to Derek? Hell, yes.’

‘Wait.’ Liam stared at Malia intensely. ‘Have you always been able to feel the bonds?’

Malia nodded. ‘Of course.’

‘Malia is in tune with her instincts. More so than anyone else due to her years as a coyote.’ Natalie explained. ‘And those instincts will have included her pack bonds.’

Malia shrugged. ‘What she said.’

‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ Scott stared at her looking betrayed.

Malia tried not to feel so smug or vindictive at that. It was a small victory but one that she would take. ‘Didn’t realise the rest of you didn’t feel them.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Kira? What do you think of Colorado?’ Ava asked hesitantly, they hadn’t really discussed anything about the future of their relationship, but Kira must know she was serious about them, especially as she had told Bart she thought Kira was a keeper in front of her.

‘Oh. Err. I’ve never been.’ Kira stuttered, blushing brightly. ‘I mean, I’d love to visit.’

‘Just visit?’

Kira sighed. ‘I would love to stay, to stay with you. But the skinwalkers told me I had to find someone. That I was a protector.’

‘Protector?’ Ava asked. She’d forgotten about that, Stiles had called it a quest and Kira had originally told her it was a spirit journey. She hadn’t realised that Kira had meant she was a protector. They were rare. She didn’t know much about the skinwalkers, had never really had much to do with them or even encountered one, but they were very rarely wrong. Protectors were usually sent by her kind, only whispers could not see or predict the future, so it had to have been by someone still on a higher plane to foresee that Kira would be needed and set her on the course to be where was needed at the right time.

‘Yeah, they didn’t really give me much to go on.’ Kira shrugged, looking depressed. ‘That’s why I’ve been travelling so much, trying to find them.’

‘But you said you had rituals that helped send you in the right direction?’ Ava said, trying to remember the places that Kira had mentioned. Her and Stiles had been to all of them in the last few years.

‘Yeah?’

‘Can you remember the dates that went with them?’ Had Kira been sent to protect Stiles? Without Kira, that fight would have been a lot worse and without a doubt, there would have been a lot more casualties on their side. If the seer had foreseen how to make a null bomb to take away her powers, then she had probably seen how to kill Ava or how to use her for her own ends. 

‘I might be able to figure out some rough dates but it would take time.’ 

That wouldn’t work, some of the places they’d only been in for a day max. ‘How did you hear about the reunion?’

‘Yeah, that was slightly weird.’ Kira scrunched her nose up. ‘I bumped into an old friend from New York who I knew from before here. It made me want to check my old email account that I haven’t used for years, see if anyone had tried to get in contact. I saw the email from the school. I never check that account.’

‘When was the last time you checked it?’ Ava asked faintly.

Kira shrugged. ‘A few months after the skinwalkers let me go. I came back here but Scott made it clear that I didn’t have a place here. I went to my parents and decided that I was done with this place and created everything new. Changed my phone number as well.’

Ava slowly took in a breath. There was definitely some higher power at work here, and it was clear that Kira had needed to be here, in Beacon Hills. ‘Do you remember how to do those rituals?’

‘Yeah, why?’

‘Because I think maybe you should do one again.’

‘What are you thinking?’

‘That Stiles might be the one you’re meant to protect.’

Kira shook her head. ‘No, the skinwalkers said I’d never met them before. That’s why I knew I could block everything from my past and start fresh.’

Ava frowned, that didn’t make sense, but she trusted Kira and the skinwalkers. ‘But Stiles and I have been to all those places you listed. And all in the last few years.’

Kira placed a hand over hers. It was reassuring and Ava felt herself settle immediately. ‘We’ll do the ritual, see what it says.’

Ava smiled through her disappointment. ‘Yeah.’

  
  
  
  


‘So, what’s your place like?’ Stiles asked, jumping up onto the counter and biting into an apple.

He didn’t remember Derek being much of a cook, but then they had been teenagers, always up against some big bad, and had lived on takeaway. He’s not sure he ever ate a home cooked dinner unless it was Melissa doing the cooking back then.

But it was clear that Derek knew his way around a kitchen. Stiles did too now, he wasn’t a great cook, and still preferred takeaway, but Ava made sure they only had takeaway while on a job. When they were at home and had the time, they cooked.

And while they were technically going out for lunch, Derek had been keen to make his dad something and Stiles’ only criteria had been that it be healthy.

Derek glanced over quickly while he cut an onion. ‘My place?’

‘Yeah, you know the place you live, the house you stay in, wherever it is you sleep, eat, jerk off…’

‘I get it.’ Derek interrupted with a stern look. 

Stiles grinned at him, a bit of apple slipping out of his mouth. He launched his hand after it and almost fell off the counter. Derek grabbed his shirt, keeping him upright and preventing him from falling. 

‘I have a house. It’s nice.’

‘Oh my God, seriously?’ Stiles stared at him. This was harder than getting blood from a stone, that he’d managed. ‘Is that all I get?’

Derek snorted, a smile playing on his lips. ‘It’s a two bedroom little house, in the countryside. Kitchen, lounge, bathroom, hallway.’

‘Ha ha, very funny.’ Stiles snarked but made it his new life’s mission to get Derek to smile more. The man was gorgeous and adorable when he did. And he was his.

Derek shrugged. ‘I like it. It’s peaceful, quiet.’

‘You’re in a pack with Jackson, how the hell is that quiet?’ Stiles wondered, kicking his legs against the cupboards underneath him.

Derek smiled as he passed Stiles to grab some peppers. Stiles pulled him over and quickly gave him a chaste kiss.

Derek was smiling when he pulled back. ‘Jackson lives in the city. He comes back some weekends and for every holiday.’

‘So that’s why it’s quiet.’ 

Derek snorted. ‘He’s a good packmate.’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles smiled as he watched him. He could see that now, Jackson had changed, lost a lot of his anger and calmed down. He wasn’t sure if that was Ethan’s influence or the influence of a calm supporting and accepting pack. ‘I can see that. By the way, what is it Jackson does? Actually what do you do? Do you have a job?’

Derek’s ear tip’s turned pink and he nodded. ‘I do. Have a job that is. And Jackson works in the finance sector, he’s really good at it.’

‘Uhuh, of course he is, it’s Jackson. So, what is it you do?’ That made perfect sense, of course Jackson would be in a job where he made tons of money and used other people’s money to do it.

‘I grow fruit and veg.’

Stiles blinked at him. He had not been expecting that answer. Deputy, sure, construction even, but gardening? He hadn’t even known that was something Derek enjoyed. ‘I’m sorry what?’

Derek looked down embarrassed. 

‘Are serious? That’s so cool! And I bet it benefits everyone.’ Stiles narrowed his eyes at him. ‘You give all your produce away for free to your pack don’t you?’

Derek snorted, a smile on his lips again. ‘It started out that way. We had a neighbouring pack over for dinner one night, they asked where we got a lot of the ingredients from because they didn’t have any chemicals in them and were nicer than the ones they got from the farmers markets. When Cora told them I grew them, they asked to buy some. I had to expand, but I sell to all the neighbouring packs now.’

‘So not surprised.’ Stiles leant forward for another kiss, this time not too chaste, nor did he release Derek afterwards. ‘It’s just like you to be so amazing.’

Derek ducked his head down after the kiss, his cheeks turning just as pink as his ears and Stiles pulled him back in for another kiss.

  
  
  
  
  


‘I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.’ Ava interrupted what was clearly a rehearsed speech. She really didn’t care that Scott couldn’t feel any pack bonds, especially when it was all his own fault. Nor did she get why this was her problem. Scott was nothing to her and yet his emissary was, very politely, asking her to help him.

Natalie broke off, blinking and looking slightly lost. ‘We were hoping you could help.’

‘Help Scott be able to feel his pack bonds that he pushed away?’ Ava grimaced, making sure her feelings on this subject and about Scott were known.

‘I didn’t push them away.’ Scott frowned.

Ava rolled her eyes. Nothing about how Scott was acting was showing that he had changed, that he had grown or learnt from his mistakes, even if he had apologised to both Stiles and Derek. ‘From what I’ve heard from Stiles you did. Peter bit you when he was alpha, you rejected him, rejected his bond, you’re only pack bond, and then you tried very hard to reject your wolf.’

‘What?’ Natalie stared at Scott. ‘You didn’t tell me that.’

Scott looked at the ground like a recalcitrant puppy. ‘I didn’t think it was important.’

‘I can’t help.’ Ava said bluntly relishing in how dejected he looked, but she continued before Scott did anything embarrassing or even more puppy like. For an alpha werewolf it was kind of pathetic. ‘But there is a spell that only a pack mate, or soon to be pack mate, can perform.’

‘Spell?’ Natalie asked, looking interested. ‘I haven’t come across any spell.’

Ava shrugged. ‘It’s not well known because no one is stupid enough to deny something that will aid there survival. It’s very rarely needed and usually only used to help bring feral omega’s back into packs. It was used on children who’s packs had been decimated by hunters.’

‘What does the spell do?’ Natalie asked.

‘It highlights the pack bonds, bringing them to the surface for the omega, or in this case, alpha, to feel. It’ll only last for a couple of hours but that is usually enough. After that, it’s down to Scott to seek them out and accept them.’

Natalie nodded. ‘Where do we find this spell?’

Ava looked at her intently. She didn’t know this witch, nor had she had any dealing with her apart from the last fight where she had held her own. Stiles didn’t know her either but Peter did and she trusted his judgement. ‘I’ll dig it out and give it to Melissa.’

‘Thank you.’

Ava shrugged. ‘Don’t thank me, Peter spoke very highly of you.’

‘Thank you Ava.’ Scott interrupted, finally sounding like an alpha. ‘I’m sorry for how I’ve acted towards you when you’ve been only kind and helpful towards me and my pack.’

Ava nodded at him. If he’d acted like this earlier, then she might have seen a minute reason why Deaton had done what he had, but this was the first time she was witnessing the alpha not act like a spoiled brat. ‘I’m not doing this for you Scott. I’ve grown to like Corey and Mason. I’m doing this for them.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Scott.’ Melissa sighed and opened her arms. Scott fell into them and she remembered her little boy. It had been a long time since she’d held or even hugged him like this. 

Stiles had told her that Malia was planning on moving with them. She didn’t know why Scott hadn’t, actually she could easily guess, he hadn’t wanted to worry her. Or it was just habit by now not to tell her anything. She wasn’t sure which saddened her more. There had been a time when she had been close to her son and proud of him and his accomplishments.

‘I heard.’ She said as Scott sniffed loudly.

‘You heard?’ Scott asked, slowly pulling away from her and looking reluctant about it.

‘That Malia is leaving.’ She gave him another hug and he sighed into it.

‘Yeah. I really fucked up. She was so angry and hurt.’ He looked so lost and helpless.

‘You hurt her.’

Scott shook his head. ‘She couldn’t forgive me for how I treated Derek.’

Melissa winced as disappointment sat heavy in her heart at her son’s actions, and she knew he’d be able to tell. ‘Yeah, that wasn’t exactly your shining moment.’

‘You heard about that?’

Melissa nodded, her lips pursed together. ‘I don’t blame Malia for being unable to forgive you for that. I’m having a hard time accepting that my son could have done something so cruel.’

Scott winced and hunched his shoulders in on himself. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘You’re apology to him went a long way. And for Stiles as well.’ She admitted with a sigh. As much as it killed her, she knew she needed to offer. ‘If you need me to stay, I will.’

Scott smiled at her, his lower lip wobbling but he shook his head. ‘No, you go mom. You love Noah and deserve to be happy. I’ll be fine. I promise.’

‘You’re my son Scott, I love you. No matter what. No matter how much you screw up or how many times, I will always love you. If you need me, I will stay.’

‘I love you too mom.’ He hugged her again, his head burrowing into her neck. She could feel something wet and was pretty sure he was crying. It was several moments until he pulled back. ‘But I need to stand on my own two feet and figure things out.’

Melissa felt tears push at her eyes. She’d thought this day had come and gone, but she still wasn’t ready for it. ‘I’m so proud of you.’

His smile wasn’t confident but it was raw and honest and she had never been prouder of him. He had realised his mistakes, apologised for them, was trying to make amends and was standing on his own, accepting responsibility.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Do you want to have your own studio? Or go around the local gift stores and art shops to see if they’ll stock your work? Or both?’ Danny asked, squinting at his laptop as he looked at shops to rent around Denver. ‘And where do you want to be based? With the pack or in Denver with Jackson and Ethan?’

‘Huh?’ Isaac stared at him. Danny glanced up and looked at him expectantly. Isaac could feel himself squirming. ‘Erm, I err, haven’t really thought about it?’

Danny smiled and turned to him. ‘No problem, just think about it? Cora said the pack live in the Rocky Mountains National Park, but Jackson’s in Denver city.’

Isaac nodded. He hadn’t really thought about it, not after agreeing to it. He’d been so happy about getting Danny back, about realising just how much Danny meant to him. He’d just assumed he would keep his website and sell his photography prints from there. That he would now have more time to go exploring to actually take the photographs. Thoughts of a shop or asking others to sell his prints had never even entered his head. ‘Where do you prefer?’

Danny shrugged. ‘Doesn’t really matter to me, I can work from anywhere as long as there's a decent internet connection.’

‘Okay.’ Isaac nodded, feeling completely clueless and lost. ‘What do you think is best?’

Danny laughed. ‘Well, the city will probably get you more exposure but it can be a lot tougher to get recognised, a lot more competition, whereas out in the national park you’ll have a lot more tourists wanting keepsakes.’

Isaac sighed. ‘You’re going to make me decide aren’t you?’

Danny got up and wrapped his arms around him. ‘There is no right or wrong answer Iaaac.’

‘Okay.’ Isaac held onto Danny’s arm, burrowing into his embrace. While he personally preferred his nature photographs, his city landscapes sold really well. ‘How about we do both then? Look into getting a studio in Denver, but live with the pack and see what local stores we can get my photos in?’

Danny kissed him. ‘Sounds like a plan.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Isaac grinned as he leant forward and deepened the kiss, pulling Danny closer. ‘I have another plan that I think we could put into action imminently.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Danny breathed, kissing him back, pushing him up and standing before attaching himself to Isaac’s neck. ‘Does this imminent plan involve clothes?’

‘No.’ Iaaac gasped as he slipped his hands into Danny’s pants, cupped his bum and hauled him closer, pushing their groins together.

‘So why are we still dressed then?’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Noah said you live in the Rocky Mountain National Park?’ Mrs McCall asked, surprising Cora. 

She hadn’t had much to do with her which had been a deliberate decision as she wasn’t too sure how much she could trust Scott’s mother even though Stiles and Noah seemed to trust her implicitly while not trusting Scott an inch.

Cora blinked at her. ‘Erm, yes Mrs McCall.’

Mrs McCall rolled her eyes. ‘Call me Melissa. That’s a very large area, where abouts? You don’t get any tourists?’

‘Oh we still get them, but they’re usually really polite and hard core hikers who respect the natural beauty of the place.’ Cora did not want to give her too much information in case she passed it on to Scott.

‘And is it easy to find places to live there?’

Cora shook her head. ‘Yes and no. You can find places to live and buy in the cities or communities near us, but we brought a lot of land. Because the majority of the mountains are owned by shifters or protected it can be hard to buy as far out as we are and virtually impossible for humans and people not in the know or related to ones already there.’

Melissa cleared her throat. ‘Well, what if it were Noah and I looking to buy?’

‘I thought you were moving in with Stiles?’ Cora frowned, trying to buy time. Noah she trusted, and she knew that by extension she should trust Melissa as well. But Melissa was still Scott’s mother. Even though Derek had told her how Scott had always kept his mother out of the supernatural business and how he had even been pushing Noah out of the loop as well.

‘I don’t really see the point of moving to New Orleans to be with Stiles when he’ll be moving to Colorado soon.’ Melissa admitted. ‘Seems to be we would be better moving straight to Colorado.’

Cora pushed aside her reservations and put her faith in Stiles and Derek. She smiled at Melissa. ‘I’m sure we can find you a place. Let me know what your requirements are and I’ll get someone on it.’

‘Oh and Cora? I haven’t told Noah or Stiles yet.’

Cora winked. ‘Say no more.’

  
  
  
  


‘What made you guys choose Colorado?’ Stiles asked, popping some more curly fries into his mouth. He loved being around the pack and having a full house, but he also craved alone time with Derek. Things may be going great between them but they still needed to get to know one another again. ‘I mean, I didn’t think there were any wolves in Colorado? I know there aren’t any in California and you guys settled there, but I’d have thought out of the whole of the United States, you’d have picked somewhere where there were wolves. Or is that a bad thing? Are actual wolves in your territory a big no no? Coz I know other packs that are fine with it.’

Derek shrugged as he took a sip of his milkshake. Stiles tried not to grin. It had been a big surprise when he had ordered a strawberry milkshake to go with his burger. ‘Personally I don’t mind. And technically, wolves are beginning to be spotted in Colorado.’

‘What?’ Stiles flailed, staring at him wide eyed. ‘Are you serious? Since when? Did someone accidentally see you guys?’

Derek laughed. ‘No, it wasn’t us, but yeah, another pack were caught out and caught on camera in Jackson county, northwest Colorado.’

‘Holy shit.’ Stiles stared at him, several curly fries falling from his mouth.

‘But you know, that wasn’t why we chose the area. It’s not just one terrain, there’s so much to choose from. There’s lakes, meadows, forrests, mountains and waterfalls.’ Derek shook his head with a smile. It was clear that Derek loved his new home and Stiles was so thankful for that. He deserved it, he deserved happiness.

Stiles blinked, failing at getting his brain back on track. ‘Did they not smell the humans? How on earth were they caught out?’

‘Long lens. They were hiding downwind a long way away.’

‘Holy shit.’ 

‘Yeah.’

Stiles mentally shook himself even though he would have loved to know the reactions of the ones who had been photographed. Maybe he’d get to meet them. ‘Okay, okay. So Rocky Mountains National Park in Colorado. Isn’t it like one of the most popular tourist routes? You hate people.’

Derek scrunched his nose up. ‘Yeah, but that’s on the trails. It’s quiet where we are. And there’s loads of other animals.’

‘Uhuh, that can’t just be why you chose it, there must be something else.’ Stiles pushed, Derek had never seemed to be content staying in the same area and settling down. Even when he’d brought himself the loft in Beacon Hill’s, it had been sparse and undecorated. But Stiles got the impression that Derek’s new home was exactly that, a home, a sanctuary. He wondered if it had anything to do with him now having neighbouring packs he was clearly on good terms with.

Derek smiled sheepishly. ‘Our parents used to tell us the story of Enos Mills, he was central in creating the national park. He was sent there when he was sixteen to stay with relatives in the hopes that the fresh air would cure his asthma. He used to climb the peaks and began writing about them, publishing fourteen books.’

‘So the fresh air did cure his asthma?’ Stiles asked, the mention of asthma reminding him of Scott and how he had been cured from it, but he knew that a lot of people did actually grow out of it.

Derek snorted. ‘No he was bitten.’

Stiles’ eyes bugged out. ‘He was a werewolf?’

Derek snorted. ‘Nope. Werebear.’

Derek grinned smugly when Stiles’ jaw dropped.

  
  
  
  
  


Kira breathed in, holding the steaming bowl of smoking herbs up high and inhaling it. She chanted the old native Athabaskan words that would ignite the herbs and invoke the spirits who had been guiding her on her journey.

They always left her with a sense of contentment and direction.

She finished chanting and slowly breathed out, gently humming the soft guttural sounds as she danced the bowl around her, spreading the herbs in a protective circle that enveloped her.

She smiled as Ava suddenly appeared in her minds eye, smiling at her, before she forced herself to concentrate. She needed to find where her journey would take her next, not find out where she desperately wanted to go next.

She knew that if the skinwalkers hadn’t told her of this quest, that she would be following Ava wherever she wanted to go.

She took another breath, centering herself, thinking of her quest, of the one she was meant to be protecting.

She opened her eyes as the familiar feeling of contentment washed over her. She smiled pleased that it had worked even though it had never failed her before.

She waited for the smoke to disappear before clearing up after herself. Washing the bowl and leaving it to dry on the draining board. She put the herbs and incense away and was dismantling the circle when it suddenly hit her.

The ritual hadn’t given her a direction to go in.

She glanced around herself, at the herbs neatly stacked away, the incense hidden in the drawer, the empty bowl drying. Her mind backtracked over every single step, but it had all been done perfectly. She hadn’t missed anything out. Everything had been done as she had always done it.

She had been filled with the normal familiar feeling of contentment, so why had she not been given a direction?

What did that mean?

  
  
  
  


‘We’ve been talking to Cora.’ Noah said. ‘Well, Mel has.’

Stiles almost gave himself whiplash turning to see Cora who looked startled and guilty at the same time. This sounded like it was meant to be a serious conversation and Stiles was not expecting a serious conversation. What exactly did they have to discuss? The vampires were dead, everything was out in the open, Scott had apologised, he was with Derek. Finally. And things were going great between them.

‘What’s going on? Why am I worried? Do I have something to be worried about? I don’t like this where this is heading.’ Stiles glared at them both.

Noah faceplamed and sighed loudly. Stiles glared at him extra hard. ‘Mel and I have decided to move straight to Colorado. Cora has found somewhere for us to stay while we look for somewhere to buy.’

‘Okay.’ Stiles frowned. ‘And?’

‘And what?’

‘You mean that’s it?’ Stiles stared at his father. ‘You had me scared for no reason? Now that’s just cruel. I thought you loved me.’

Noah stared at him. ‘So, you’re not upset that we’re not moving to New Orleans first?’

Stiles frowned. ‘Why would I be upset? Ava and I are moving too.’

‘You are?’ Derek asked his eyes wide.

‘Well d’uh.’ Stiles smacked his arm. How did Derek not know that? He’d been there with them when they’d decided. ‘Do you know how far away Colorado is from New Orleans? That is not an easy commute let me tell you.’

Derek smiled at him.

Stiles scrunched his face up. If Derek hadn’t been aware they were moving, then he probably had been completely oblivious to Stiles’ plans to move in with him. With anyone else he’d have known that he was moving way too fast, but this was Derek and they were mates. They’d been in love with each other for over a decade. ‘Does this mean I actually have to ask you if I can move in with you because I had assumed that that was a given what with being mates and all.’

Derek rolled his eyes but he could see how pleased he was. Wolves were a lot more tactile than people were and Stiles was happy to see that he was right that Derek would want him close by. But seeing as they hadn’t really spent much time apart since Derek’s near death experience, it probably wasn’t all that insightful and Derek was probably feeling just as needy as Stiles himself was.

‘Of course you have to ask.’ Cora snorted. ‘Apart from the fact that it’s Derek, it’s also just common courtesy.’

‘Fine.’ Stiles grouches. ‘Derek, oh love of my life, mate of my heart, yin to my yang…’

Cora snickered.

Noah just looked resigned.

‘Stiles please shut up.’ Derek groaned but Stiles could see the blush appearing on his cheeks and his lips quirking upwards. ‘Yes, you can move in.’

‘Brilliant!’ Stiles yanked Derek closer, not surprised when he almost over balanced and fell into him. ‘Next question, do I get to move into your bedroom or do I have to use your spare room? Coz I gotta warn you, I have a lot of stuff and if possible, need a workroom.’

Derek huffed but wrapped his arms around Stiles. ‘We can build an extension.’

‘Just for my stuff and workroom right? Not for me? I get to stay with you right?’

‘Yes Stiles, you get to stay with me.’ Derek leaned forward and kissed him quickly before looking surprised that he had done so.

‘Sweet!’ Stiles cheered, linking his hand with Derek’s before he could get too worked up over Derek voluntarily displaying affection. There was no way that Stiles was going to bring attention to it and risk embarrassing him so that he never did it again. Stiles wanted all the voluntary displays of affection that Derek wanted to give. ‘But I’ll find somewhere else for my work stuff and try not to bring it all home with me.’

‘What?’ Stiles asked, feeling Derek freeze. He glanced up at him seeing Derek’s gobsmacked expression and a hand rubbing gently at his chest. Stiles looked over at Cora who was beaming happily at them. He wondered if Derek was feeling the same faint warmth in his heart that he was. It was strange and felt almost sentient, as if it had different branches with different colour, emotions and flavours. But the strongest branch he could have sworn blind was Derek.‘What did I just miss?’

‘Oh nothing,’ Cora told him smugly. ‘Just your pack bond settling.’

Stiles felt himself beam with pride and felt along his metaphorical tree in his heart until he came across a sturdy branch that felt like calmness, safety and tacos. He gave it a tug and Cora narrowed her eyes at him.

  
  
  
  
  


Ava frowned as she looked around herself. She was in Noah’s backyard, but she no longer felt alone. There wasn’t anyone else out here with her, but she could feel another presence. A presence that was familiar to her and unfamiliar at the same time.

A presence that had a distinctive feel to her.

A presence she had recently reacquainted herself with.

‘Bart?’ She asked, cocking her head to the side.

A gentle breeze tussled her hair. Just her hair, nowhere else.

‘Hello Bart.’ She smiled sadly as the meaning of what was happening sunk in. Bart hadn’t chosen to remain human. He had re-ascended and returned to the heavens. ‘I’m going to miss you.’

A whine sounded in the distance.

‘I’m glad you figured things out.’

The wind blew a piece of paper out of Stiles’ bedroom window. It danced in front of her for a moment. 

She frowned and plucked it out of the air. It was a picture of Kira. What did Kira have to do with anything? ‘Kira? What about her?’

The wind turned warm and caressing and encompassed her, like a hug. It was reassuring. It made her feel safe and content.

‘I don’t understand.’ Ava said slowly, staring at the picture. How was this possible? Why would anyone send someone to protect her? She was a whisper, she knew how to take care of herself. She was one of the most powerful things in this dimension. ‘Are you telling me that Kira was sent to protect me?’

A dog suddenly started barking excitedly two doors down.

‘Oh.’

In a weird way it made sense. She loved Stiles and would do anything for him. If the seer had got hold of him, she could have asked anything of Ava and she would have done it to get Stiles back.

Ava narrowed her eyes when the wind in the trees groaned. ‘There’s no need to be snarky.’

  
  
  
  
  



	29. Chapter 29

  
  
  


‘Stacey!’ Stiles smiled, surprised to see her again.

It was a shame that Peter wasn’t here, seeing as he’d spent the evening of the fight stealing glances at her, although that could have been because she was sat next to Malia while Malia revealed the state of her relationship with Scott. Most of which Stiles had blocked from his memory so it stood to reason that Peter couldn’t look at his daughter while she was talking about sex.

‘I was hoping to speak to you and Ava.’ 

‘Sure.’ Stiles stood back, allowing her in while desperately trying to think of why she would want to speak to them. ‘Come on in.’

‘Thanks.’ 

He led the way through the house and out to the garden where Ava was, who looked up at their approach and waved in greeting at Stacey as he flopped down beside her.

‘If it’s still available, I want to accept the job you offered me.’ Stacey started, getting straight to the point.

Ava grinned. ‘Sure.’

‘Job offer?’ Stiles asked blankly then winced when Ava elbowed him. ‘Oh that job offer?’

He winced again, still not having a clue what they were talking about. What job offer? Stacey was a coroner in Beacon Hills. True, her location didn’t really matter, and true, they occasionally did require a coroner, one who was in the supernatural loop, but not to the extent that they wanted to hire one full time. 

Stacey looked dismayed. ‘It, it’s okay if it’s not.’

‘No, it is.’ Ava glared at him. ‘Stiles is being an idiot.’

‘Hey.’ Stiles protested automatically.

‘You changed your mind about wanting a supernatural doctor?’ Ava asked him.

If Stacey didn’t mind doing operations on people, or creatures, that were still alive, and in some cases, still awake, then that was an entirely different ball game.

Stiles blinked. ‘You’re looking for a new job? Away from Beacon Hills?’ He glared at Ava. ‘I did not know this. Nobody told me this.’

Ava winced. ‘Oh yeah, you were getting Derek settled in your bed.’

‘It was after the fight.’ Stacey explained.

Stiles pointed at her. ‘I like her, she’s nice. She tells me things.’ 

Ava scoffed. ‘Please, you love me.’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah. So... Stacey, aren’t you the coroner?’

‘Erm.’ Stacey’s eyes were darting between the two of them. ‘Yeah, but I used to run the ER before Scott turned me.’

‘You’re hired.’ Stiles stated immediately. They had been debating about adding to their team but instead of searching for another member, they had decided to wait and see who they found. They didn’t want to hire someone who was only in it for the money or the kudos seeing as they were starting to make a name from themselves. Especially since they’d helped out the Sousa pack. ‘Welcome to the team, is there anything you need to know?’

‘Actually, yeah.’ Stacey side eyed him as if he needed to be committed. Which, rude. Although he supposed most people did want more information when getting hired for a job. ‘What is it I’ll be doing?’

‘Similar to ER work actually I imagine. Mainly triage, a few operations, autopsies.’ Stiles grinned as her eyes widened. ‘We get called in to settle disputes, figure out kidnappings, murders, poisonings… You know the usual.’

‘Uhuh, the usual.’ Stacey repeated faintly before a smile crossed her face. ‘At least it will be interesting.’

Ava laughed. ‘Oh it certainly will be.’

‘So, how does pay work? Where are we based?’

‘I’ll get Betty to get in touch with you regarding pay. We are currently in the process of moving our base from New Orleans to Colorado, which reminds me, I need to tell Betty that.’ Stiles said, frowning as he pulled out his phone and hurriedly tapped away at it. Betty was their unofficial secretary slash manager slash accountant. She did everything for them. She wasn’t human and her entire clan had been wiped out in a dispute. Stiles and Ava had heard of it too late to be able to save either side and Betty, a teenager at the time, had hidden in a seaweed covered rock pool and been the only survivor. Neither of them could do without her. He really hoped she would come with them to Colorado. ‘But we travel. A lot. Is that okay? Did Ava actually tell you anything about the job?’

‘Hey.’ Ava sulked beside him.

Stiles ignored her, looking at Stacey who looked a little startled but shook her head. ‘So we travel all over the country including South America. The jobs are hit and miss, we can have them come in one after the after or none at all. It can be really full on and you need to be okay with suddenly leaving to any part of the country, or world actually, at a moment's notice.’

‘Although that hasn’t happened in a while.’ Ava interrupted.

Stiles nodded. ‘I think our last break only lasted two months but we had plenty of little squabbles in New Orleans to settle.’

‘We are getting busier the more well known we become.’ Ava said, ‘But we earn decent money. You’ll get a set wage with bonuses on top according to performance.’

‘And if we get a bonus from the client it’s shared equally.’ Stiles added. ‘Betty’s the only other member of our team, and she basically organises us.’

‘Sounds good.’ Stacey nodded. ‘When do you want me to start?’

Stiles beamed at her. ‘How much notice do you need to give?’

Stacey grinned back. ‘Two weeks. I’m headed in now and can get the ball rolling.’

Stiles glanced over to Ava who was already nodding her head. He beamed at Stacey. ‘It seems you're hired. Welcome to the team!’

  
  
  
  


‘Lydia, can we meet somewhere?’

Lydia frowned at the seriousness in Jordan’s voice. That did not sound good. Especially as it wasn’t time for his break, although he was acting Sheriff, he could take a break whenever he wanted. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘No. No, nothings wrong exactly, I just, I got some news.’ She heard him sigh. ‘I’ve been offered the Sheriff position. Officially.’

‘That’s amazing and completely deserved.’ Lydia told him truthfully even while her heart sank. This was an amazing opportunity for him and he’d be stupid to turn it down. And he wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t like him so much if he was.

‘I don’t know what to do. It’s something I’ve been working towards for years, and yet, I don’t want to stay here without you.’

‘I want to be with you too.’ Lydia said closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. ‘We’ll figure it out Jordan. I promise. Do you want to stay here in Beacon Hills? Regardless of my opinions on this place. Be honest.’

She started pacing as Jordan replied to her. Now that she was faced with them possibly separating, she was wondering if Beacon Hills had really been as bad as it felt it had been. Would she be able to stand moving back here?

‘No. No, I don’t, but this is a great opportunity that I’m reluctant to just give up.’

‘It is, it is a great opportunity. But this isn’t going to be your only opportunity.’ Lydia had come to know Jordan this time around and he was amazing. She doubted it would take long for anyone else to see that. But maybe he needed experience as a sheriff first, but if he turned down this opportunity would he be offered the same opportunity elsewhere? Or would people think he didn’t want to be sheriff?

‘I’ve been looking into where I might be able to transfer to.’ He said hesitantly and she gripped the phone tighter. If he was willing to move, then he was definitely serious about them, in which case he couldn’t be the only one making sacrifices in their relationship.

‘And?’ She demanded when he just stopped talking. Maybe they could find somewhere else to settle down, somewhere clean without any history for either of them. She held her breath hoping it would be somewhere in the vicinity of Colorado. With everyone moving there now, it felt like she was being left out, like everyone was sorting their lives out, figuring out what they wanted and settling down and she was still left floating and untethered. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

‘There’s a precinct in Colorado, Grand Lake police department. It’s near Derek. They’re looking for a deputy.’

‘I’ve been looking at contacts and moving there for me is also doable.’ Lydia allowed herself a smile but didn’t allow herself hope, not just yet. She currently worked from home, only going into the office once a week or when she felt like it. She was an actuary and had people from all over the world headhunting her for her predictability tables.

‘The current sheriff is based in Grand County and is a few years away from retirement.’

‘That, that’s good.’ Lydia breathed, gripping the phone so tight her fingers turned white. She was willing to move anywhere for Jordan, as long as it wasn’t Beacon Hills.

‘So the question is, do I stay here for a year to get the experience or just hope that when he retires I’ll get the promotion?’ Jordan asked.

Lydia let out the breath she was holding and rubbed her head, they were on the same page then. ‘If you did that, if you stayed here for a year, would you be okay with going back to being a deputy after being a sheriff though?’

Jordan was silent on the other end and Lydia knew they had their answer.

  
  
  
  


‘Stiles.’ Derek started and forced himself not to frown. He’d gotten out of that habit but had found that being back in Beacon Hills meant he was falling back into those habits he hated. He was pretty sure that when he returned home he was going to have to give his therapist a call. And that he should have called her the second Isaac had asked him to come back.

He didn’t want Stiles to get worried and jump to conclusions based on the stupid facial expressions he was probably currently pulling. Why did he not have a better plan for this? And now he was scowling.

‘Uhuh?’ Stiles asked, concentrating on his laptop. He’d been muttering under his breath about emails but Derek had heard that someone had asked for some information about water sprites.

‘You know when you asked to move in?’ So far so good, nice and casual, he could do this. And he could no longer feel the crease in his forehead.

‘Yeah? What, why? You having second thoughts? Am I moving too fast? I’m moving too fast. I’m so sorry. I can find somewhere else.’ Stiles instantly dropped what he was doing and was now staring at Derek in alarm.

‘No. Stiles, I still want you to move in.’ Derek smiled at him, hopefully in a reassuring way as he desperately tried to calm him down. He had not expected it to go this bad this quickly, but then this was him and Stiles. Luckily Stiles beamed at him. ‘It’s just, you said…’ He trailed off, not finding the right words to say.

Stiles stared at him in horror. ‘Oh God what did I say? I can’t be held accountable for what my mouth says, it’s totally independent of me.’

Derek snorted, somehow Stiles getting worked up was managing to calm him down and he could think to get his words out. ‘No, you said love of my life, and your heartbeat stayed the same. You weren’t lying.’

‘Oh. You noticed that huh?’ Stiles blinked at him and Derek could smell… embarrassment? Stiles wrinkled his nose up. ‘I kinda wanted the first time I told you I love you to be special.’

Derek felt his breath get stuck in his throat. Stiles was serious, he loved him. ‘I, I love you too.’

Stiles pulled him close and kissed him, licking into his mouth, happily surrendering when Derek sucked on his tongue. He tried to remember who was in the house with them, definitely Noah, Melissa had gone to work, and his pack had gone to help Danny pack up his and Isaac’s house, Peter was out in the preserve looking for some rare flower that grew here. Lydia had been on the phone with Jordan before leaving abruptly. He couldn’t remember about Ava but neither her nor Kira had werewolf senses and Isaac was at school working out his notice.

‘I know.’

Derek groaned and leant back, smiling as he watched Stiles push away his laptop and turn to face him on the sofa. ‘I take it back.’

‘Too late!’ Stiles sang, punching his arm before standing up and settling himself on Derek’s lap. ‘Derek, life has been shit, but you make it better.’

Derek had to bite the inside of his cheek, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him, as he gripped Stiles’ hip, securing him in place. He took a breath and when he didn’t choke, he nodded. ‘You do too.’

Stiles wrapped his arms around him, kissing him again, pressing up against him, grinding his hips down in Derek’s lap.

Derek groaned again but Stiles swallowed it. He slid one hand up the inside of Stiles shirt, his palm flat against the cool skin as his other hand toyed with the top of his pants.

‘Oh God, Derek.’ Stiles sighed as he pulled back. ‘There need to be less clothes.’

‘Your dad…’ Derek breathed.

Stiles nodded seriously before a slow smile spread across his face. ‘My dad can’t get up the stairs. And I really want to see you on a bed.’

Derek cocked his head to the side and nodded once before he stood up with Stiles still wrapped around him. 

  
  
  
  
  


‘Mason?’ Ava called, catching sight of him as she was rifling through the fresh fruit section. She was pretty sure she was the only person who had noticed how little fresh food was in the house. Although she couldn’t discount Melissa picking some up on her way home, but with werewolves constantly hanging around, extra food would never go to waste.

‘Ava?’ Mason said startled before glancing down at his daughter. ‘Hey sweetheart, do you remember daddy’s friend Ava?’

‘No.’ Amanda stared at her with her head cocked.

‘No, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Ava.’ Ava grinned down at the little girl.

‘Daddy says I’m not meant to talk to strangers.’ Amanda told her seriously.

Ava nodded back just as serious. ‘And he’s right, but as your daddy is here and has made it known that we are friends and allowed us to be introduced, I don’t know if we’re still strangers.’

Amanda stared her down but Ava didn’t break. Eventually she nodded. ‘I’m Amanda.’

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you Amanda.’

Amanda grinned at her. ‘Your funny. I like you.’

‘I like you too. Are you getting something special for your papa?’

Amanda nodded and Ava quickly decided that three punnets of strawberries just wouldn’t be enough, she better get another two, just to be safe. ‘He likes strawberries with cookie dough ice cream covered with gummy bears.’

Ava grinned. Ice cream, that was a good shout. Not that Stiles would allow Noah anywhere near it. Maybe she should just grab a couple pineapples and a few melons instead. ‘Sounds like a man with good taste.’

Amanda scrunched her face up. ‘I prefer chocolate to gummy bears but they’re better than nothing.’

Ava nodded. ‘I can see how chocolate would be superior.’

Mason gasped. ‘Do not let Corey hear you say that!’

Ava laughed and bent down to Amanda. ‘What’s your papa’s favourite?’

‘Gummy bears. He has a secret stash at home that he doesn’t think I know about but I do.’

‘A secret stash huh?’ Ava asked. ‘Well I’ll be sure to take him gummy bears next time I see him.’

‘What secret stash?’ Mason asked confused. ‘Where?’

Amanda sighed loudly. ‘Daddy, can I go get some candy?’

Mason checked the aisle they were on and that the candy was down the far end. ‘Only if you stay in sight.’

She grinned and skipped off.

‘She’s cute.’ Ava smiled after her. ‘And intelligent.’

‘She’s great.’ Mason said softly. ‘Ava, you’ve done so much for me and Corey, and we can never repay you.’

Ava threw him a look. This scarily sounded like a break up speech. Did they no longer want her to heal Corey? It wouldn’t be the first time that she had met someone who did not want to be healed. It was the fifth. ‘Why do I feel there’s a but in there?’

Mason half laughed. ‘But, Corey and I want to stay. Here in Beacon Hills.’

Ava grinned at him and nudged his shoulder. She could easily work with that, she’d had a plan in place for a while. To be honest, she’d been waiting for a while for them to tell her they wanted to stay. Most people did. ‘That’s fine. There is no right or wrong decision here Mason.’

He breathed out and nodded. ‘I know, but it still feels like a big decision.’

‘Because it is. But it doesn’t mean it's the wrong decision. If you guys want to stay, then you want to stay, there isn’t anything wrong with that.’ Even she could see that they had everything they needed and wanted here. Friends, family, pack and support.

‘Even though Corey will have to work to get better? And may never fully recover?’ Mason wrung his hands, looking worried.

‘Truthfully Mason, it’s probably better this way.’ She tried to reassure him. ‘But I promise you that Corey will fully recover, even though it will take time and he will have to work for it.’ 

Mason nodded at Ava’s words. ‘Thanks Ava.’

‘And we’ll keep in contact.’ He didn’t need to know that she would plan to come back in a year or two, check on their progress, and maybe finish the healing.

  
  
  
  
  


Stiles heard himself squeak in surprise as he suddenly found himself airborne, he tightened his grip on Derek, his legs scrambling around his waist and his arms pulling Derek closer. 

Derek used the opportunity to shove his tongue further into Stiles’ mouth and slid his hand down around Stiles’ bum, squeezing each cheek. It felt like a promise of what was to come. Stiles couldn’t help the moan that escaped him and wrapped his arms more securely around Derek’s shoulders as Derek headed for the stairs. At least he really hoped that was what he was doing.

Derek hitched him up higher and Stiles felt his eyes roll into the back of his head as they started up the stairs. Thank God for werewolf strength. Derek needed to hurry up because he was not going to last, especially not with the contact and friction that going up the stairs was creating. He arched his back and started mouthing at Derek’s neck, he knew that he didn’t wear aftershave but God, did Derek smell and taste good. It was a natural, earthy smell that was just pure Derek. 

Stiles needed to keep his head, at least until they got into his room, because then he could cast a silencing spell on the room so his dad couldn’t hear and they could be as loud as they liked. He was a talker at the best of times but in this situation he was never quiet.

Stiles wiggled his hips impatiently as he kissed Derek and sucked his tongue into his mouth, not even sorry when Derek stumbled and slammed him into the wall. He ignored the pain, just gripped Derek tighter while he regained his balance. He wasn’t sure he had ever felt this much desire for someone else before.

‘Everything all right?’ He heard his dad call.

‘Fine.’ Stiles gasped back, arching into Derek’s grip before yelling louder. ‘Everything's fine.’

Derek snorted and Stiles couldn’t help the hysterical sounding laugh that bubbled up. God he had waited ages for this. Years, in fact. He had waited literally years for Derek Hale. And now he had him. Seventeen year old him would have been having conniptions, before he had a crisis over his sexuality and then jerked off to the idea.

He slid one hand up into Derek’s hair, kissing his way along Derek’s jaw, barely even noticing the slam of a door as he lost himself in the feel of Derek and the anticipation that they were finally going to do a lot more than just kiss and cuddle.

‘Stiles.’ Derek groaned as he leant back against the door and Stiles realised they were in his room with his hands trapped against Derek's back.

He closed his eyes, calling up his spark and quickly muttered the spell to soundproof the room, he felt it wash over him and, ignoring Derek’s look, impatiently pulled him into a kiss, pushing Derek’s hands up above his head. 

He needed Derek naked now, but he also needed to be touching as much of him as possible. He was so solid and smooth, the planes and ridges of his muscles rippling tantalisingly under his touch. It had been a long time since he’d felt so desperate to touch another person. It was usually just the urge to scratch an itch, not this all consuming need.

Stiles pulled Derek’s shirt off, kissing him again, pushing their chests together, mindful of Derek not liking his stomach licked, or probably kissed, as he fiddled with Derek’s belt while Derek apparently used his claws to tear his shirt off of him. Stiles didn’t even feel the press of his claws or anything, just heard the slight faint snick of his shirt being cut before Derek’s hands were pushing it off of him.

‘Hey, I liked that shirt.’ Stiles mumbled as he slid down Derek, taking his pants with him, ignoring the protruding limb that was waving merrily at him, his hands running over his bulging leg muscles reverently. 

‘What was that spell?’ Derek groaned, using his hands to balance himself against the back of the door while lifting his feet up for Stiles to remove his pants.

‘Silencing spell. Can be as loud as we want.’ Stiles grinned up at him, remaining on his knees. He watched as Derek’s eyes dilated and he toyed with the elastic on Derek’s boxers. ‘May I?’

Derek swallowed and nodded.

Stiles eased the boxers down slowly, his mouth watering in anticipation as he slowly revealed Derek’s cock. His large, solid, very erect, uncut cock. It bounced free, smacking enticingly against Derek’s stomach, red and desperate.

Stiles nosed along it, breathing in Derek’s musky scent and gripped the base as he licked a stripe up it and noisily sucked momentarily at the red and angry head.

Derek groaned and Stiles heard a thump. He looked up but it looked as if Derek’s head was pressed against the wall and he was breathing heavily.

Stiles grinned as he leant forward and took the firm penis into his mouth, he tasted salty and was warmer than Stiles had expected. He flicked his tongue into the foreskin and teasingly circled the head while Derek’s hips stuttered. His head shot forward, a loud whine startling Stiles as Derek stared down at him with his eyes wide and flashing blue. It looked as if he was struggling to remember to breath out, but the breathy noises he was emitting were somehow making Stiles even harder which he hadn’t realised was possible.

Stiles took one of his hands from Derek’s hips and placed it over his own aching cock trying to relieve the pressure, groaning at the friction he’d inadvertently added. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been this hard or felt this desperate but Derek’s whines and whimpers were doing something to him he had never known was possible. He refrained from his urge to just dry hump Derek’s leg until he came, he wanted Derek to come first. He wanted to see how Derek looked, hear how he sounded when he came and commit it all to memory.

‘Shit, Stiles.’ Derek breathed, threading his fingers through Stiles’ hair as Stiles continued to lick around the head and massage the base of Derek’s cock at the same time. ‘Keep that up and I’m going to come very, very soon.’

Stiles slid off, discreetly wiping at the trail of drool connecting his mouth to Derek. His jaw was aching, it had been awhile since he had given a blow job and Derek wasn’t exactly small, but there was no way he was not finishing what he started. Derek’s breath hitched as he stared down at him and Stiles wondered what kind of picture he made that Derek was seeing. Derek reached for his face and caressed his chin softly, an amazed expression covering his. 

Stiles shifted himself slightly, making it easier for him to palm himself. He’d never gotten this much pleasure from giving a blow job before and Derek was not being shy about how much he was enjoying it.

‘That’s the point.’ He rasped before kissing his way around the head, flicking his tongue randomly every few kisses while very deliberately keeping eye contact.

Derek moaned, his hand sliding back into his hair and tugging slightly but he kept watching Stiles this time and Stiles made sure he kept the eye contact. There was something entirely erotic about it that he had never experienced with anyone else. Derek’s breathy whimpers and sighs of pleasure continued. Stiles rubbed harder at his own crotch while he continued to suckle at Derek’s, moving his hand so he could pump the base of Derek’s shaft. He wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to last but he needed Derek to come first.

‘Shit. God. St-Stiles.’ Derek stuttered, his fangs dropped down and his hands tightened in Stiles’ hair. If Derek’s claws came out then Stiles certainly didn’t feel them but the thought of Derek losing his control because Stiles was sucking him off almost made him come right then and there.

Stiles moved his hand on Derek to cradle his testicles, massaging them together, tickling his perineum with his fingertips, feeling the exact moment the balls started to tighten and a moment later Derek gasped his name, his hands back against the door, claws fully out and gouging into the wood, as he came down his throat.

Stiles swallowed it all down, surprised at the pleasant, slightly tangy taste, as he released Derek’s softening cock and rubbed at himself frantically before he felt himself reach his own climax seconds later. His eyes closed and his breath automatically held, his heart stuttering as he virtually collapsed on the floor. He was pretty sure he would not be regaining the use of his legs for some time yet.

‘Holy shit Stiles.’ Derek said as he slid down the door and crumbled beside him. He’d never gotten any complaints before but he’d also not given many before, so Derek’s reaction was actually quite bolstering, or it would be when he could think again.

Stiles hummed and Derek tugged him into another kiss before pulling him onto his lap. Stiles grunted in displeasure as his soiled underwear rubbed against his sensitive, softened penis.

‘God, you taste like me.’ Derek groaned into his mouth before inhaling deeply. ‘Love the way you smell.’

Stiles moaned as he exhaled, pressing himself bonelessly back into Derek to give him another kiss. He’d never come by giving a blow job before but he had a feeling his relationship with Derek was going to be full of firsts and make him feel like a seventeen year old virgin again.

‘Here, let me help.’ Derek offered, his hand unbuttoning Stiles’ jeans buttons.

‘No need.’

Derek shifted and stared at him. ‘You?’

Stiles felt himself blush but nodded. ‘Yep. You make the most amazing noises.’

He caught sight of Derek’s blush before he hid it by shifting out from underneath him and pushing him down flat on the ground before nosing at his groin, pulling his jeans away which were quickly followed by his boxers.

Stiles groaned when he felt Derek’s wet tongue cleaning him up so gently that he didn’t even overstimulate him. Not that the gentleness stopped his cock from attempting to stand to attention, in which it failed. Stiles had never tried to get hard a second time quite so quickly but he had a feeling that with Derek he would be trying a lot he hadn’t previously considered. ‘Holy shit. Derek, you’re going to make me hard again.’

‘What’s wrong with that?’

Stiles snorted. ‘You going to be ready to go again?’

Derek rose up over him to glare at him. ‘I’m a werewolf, we do have pretty good recovery times.’

‘Well then, fancy putting that werewolf strength and recovery to good use and getting us on the bed?’ Stiles grinned up at him, running his hands up and down Derek’s arms, feeling the muscles flex as he did. It was very distracting and he shifted underneath him, arching up. ‘Coz I think we should test that werewolf stamina and see if you can last any longer inside me than you did in my mouth.’

Derek looked at Stiles intently, his expression looking slightly vulnerable. ‘You said you’d never bottomed?’

‘First time for everything big guy.’ Stiles murmured, leaning up for a kiss that Derek automatically responded to. Stiles couldn’t help but smile. Butterflies swooped in his stomach, how the hell did Derek make him feel so much? So soft and mushy and good about himself.

‘Maybe we should save that til we’re in our own house then?’

Stiles groaned. ‘Oh my God, you’re already giving me blue balls, come on sourwolf. You can’t just say romantic shit like that.’

Derek glared at him again and he stood up, quickly bending down and putting his arms underneath Stiles before he could move and picking him up. 

Stiles squeaked, feeling slightly emasculated but completely content when Derek tossed him onto the bed. He grinned as he found himself suddenly pinned down by a very naked and very interested werewolf who was glaring at him. ‘You’ve just come and you’re already talking about having blue balls?’

  
  
  
  
  


Peter frowned at the unknown number calling him. While that wasn’t unusual, not with his line of work anyway, this was his personal number not his work one. Only his pack and Malia had his personal number. Although he was impressed at the service his phone was getting this far out into the preserve, but then he was at the top of a hill.

‘Hello?’

‘Peter, it’s Stacey.’ 

His concern turned to surprise and he quickly tamped down on the pleased hum that almost escaped him. He had been hoping she would call and like the paranoid person he was, looked into her and still found that he liked her. She appeared to be a woman who knew what she wanted and went after it, the only exception being when she turned into a werewolf. If Jackson hadn’t told him how little she had known about other packs, he would be wondering what the hell she was still doing with McCall. Not that he wasn’t already wondering that.

‘Stacey, I didn’t realise I had given you this number.’

‘You didn't, Malia did but I didn’t want to call you on your work number.’

‘No?’ That sounded promising and spoke a lot of her nature that Scott hadn’t managed to completely poison her against him.

‘No, this isn’t work related nor am I calling in a favour.’

‘I am intrigued.’ That only left personal reasons and he was completely onboard with that. He rather hoped that Ava was serious in her job offer and that Stacey took it. He would then have plenty of easy excuses to keep seeing her, especially with Derek and Stiles now being together.

‘Would you like to go to dinner with me?’

Peter blinked, it had been a long time since he’d been caught off guard. He had been hoping this would be the outcome, or at least a friendly meeting with the possibility of turning it into a date. ‘Yes. I would.’

‘Brilliant. Tonight, seven pm?’

‘Sounds like a date.’ He said amused. He had nothing against a woman who took charge, in truth, he rather liked it. But he hadn’t been expecting it with her knowing his full history and how prejudiced her current pack was against him. Although that may be part of the reason she was doing this. He had to love a rebel.

Stacey laughed. ‘Do you want me to pick you up or would you prefer to pick me up?’

‘Call me old fashioned but I would prefer to pick you up.’ As much as he admired a strong forceful woman, he did like some traditional aspects of dating.

‘Of course, and be warned, I’m going to pick your brains about the supernatural to prepare myself for working with Stiles and Ava.’

‘I look forward to it.’ Peter grinned as he hung up, and not just because he had finally spotted a large cluster of Mount Diablo buckwheat. Stacey had accepted the job and they had a date tonight. Maybe Beacon Hills wasn’t so cursed for Hales if this was the outcome of this stay.

He looked down at the buckwheat, the smile still broad on his face. One flower would net him a fortune on the black market, but this many? There was no way he was telling a soul how many he had or where he had found them. Well, he’d wouldn’t be able to resist bragging to his pack, but they knew to keep quiet.

The flower may not be as rare as it was five years ago, what with being thought extinct, but it would be easy to find a buyer who would pay whatever he asked for it. Not bad for only a few hours of work. 

He wondered if he could talk Cora into going to the Hale vault while they were here, he was sure there were some more bearer bonds somewhere. It would be doubtful that anyone would ever want to return to Beacon Hills so they might as well see what they could take. It was about time that they invested in another vault a lot nearer to them.

  
  
  
  


‘Scott?’ Stiles stared at the werewolf at his door in surprise. There was only him and his dad here, he couldn’t think of what, or who, Scott could possibly want here.

‘Hey, I was wondering if maybe we could work at being friends? Or if theres anything you need closure or something on that I could answer?’ Scott asked, sounding embarrassed and rubbing at the back of his neck. He still had the same old nervous tells.

‘Erm, okay.’ Stiles blanked but allowed Scott into the house, quickly allowing him entry through the wards. He would put them back up the moment Scott left with Scott none the wiser, but just because he was allowing him in, didn’t mean he trusted his old friend. He may have apologised, but if he wanted them to be friends again, then he still had a long way to go. ‘What do you wanna do?’

Scott shrugged, panic momentarily crossing his face. ‘You still play video games?’

Stiles shook his head. ‘Not for a while but I’m sure my dad still has my old ones around somewhere.’

Scott was silent while he hunted down his x-box and a few games and got it all set up. He was glad that Derek had popped home for a few hours before he took him out tonight. While Derek had accepted Scott’s apology, he hadn’t forgiven him and neither had Stiles, and Stiles would now have to scrub himself clean to get rid of any smell of Scott. He didn’t want anything to put any kind of dampener on this evening. He just prayed that Scott’s visit wouldn’t put him in a bad mood. Today had been going so well.

His dad looked in, raised his eyebrows and wheeled himself back out without saying anything. Stiles was slightly relieved. While he knew his dad wouldn’t say anything to Scott out of respect to Melissa, there were still some very strong negative feelings towards him.

Their first game was also played in silence.

‘Why did you do that to Derek?’ Stiles eventually asked. He hadn’t wanted to ask that, he’d wanted to break the silence, but with something else, something light and easy that wouldn’t require a heartfelt conversation where they would both end up sad, regretful and pissed off.

Scott looked at his feet, his shoulders hunched and shrugged. He died on the screen but this wasn’t really a conversation they could have playing video games. 

‘We can talk about something else. Forget I asked.’ Stiles quickly cut in before Scott could say anything.

‘No.’ Scott shook his head. ‘It’s why I came. I just…’ He shrugged.

‘Did Chris Argent tell you to?’ Stiles was getting better at saying the man’s name now. He didn’t flinch every time. Only eighty percent of the time. But he couldn’t look at Scott.

‘No.’ Scott whispered, guilt lacing his voice.

‘So why did you?’

Scott took a moment. ‘It wasn’t just that I didn’t like him, although that played a big part.’ He began truthfully. ‘But I could also see people who I trusted, who I thought were looking out for me, didn’t like him.’

Stiles blinked in shock. And as much as Stiles hated what he was hearing, he was glad that Scott was telling him the truth. But did Scott honestly believe that?

‘It wasn’t just Chris Argent, but Deaton too.’ Scott cut in quickly.

‘Deaton?’ Stiles repeated numbly. Those were the two people Scott had trusted more than him?

‘Yeah, I mean, he was supposed to be the Hales Emissary but he didn’t want anything to do with Derek.’

Stiles closed his eyes and breathed out his mouth noisily. How the hell had Scott not figured this out with his wolf nose? ‘Christ Scott. Deaton never hated Derek, he just found it virtually impossible to look at him! But he never hated him.’

‘What?’ Scott frowned. ‘But he said…’

Stiles cut him off. ‘Deaton was the Hales Emissary. But he fell in love with the Alpha. He fell in love with Talia.’

‘But Talia’s husband?’ Scott questioned.

‘Have you ever heard Derek, or any of the Hales for that matter, speak about him?’

Scott frowned. ‘No.’

‘Exactly.’ Stiles sighed. He had figured this out in high school and had just assumed, what with Scott being so close to Deaton, that he had as well. That was a stupid mistake. ‘They very rarely speak about their family, but he’s never mentioned.’

Scott frowned, looking lost in thought. ‘So, did Talia love Deaton back?’

Stiles shrugged. ‘That’s a question for Deaton. But she did ask Deaton to look out for her children.’ 

‘She did?’ Scott asked, confused.

Stiles nodded. ‘She did, but Deaton is still a druid, he did what he thought was best, as a druid. Derek was never meant to be alpha, so he found another.’

‘Me.’ Scott whispered.

‘You.’ Stiles agreed, wondering if Scott saw the parallels between himself and Deaton.

‘Stiles I’m so sorry. I know I’ve said it before but I mean it.’ Scott sniffed, his face was pale. ‘I honestly thought I was doing the right thing and I can see now just how wrong I was.’

‘Why did you never ask me Scotty?’ The nickname slipped out before he could stop it.

Scott shrugged helplessly, the lost look on his face making his eyes appear bigger. ‘I don’t know. I believed everything Chris told me.’

‘And you never once asked me.’ Stiles said quietly.

‘If I could go back and do it all again differently, I would.’

‘Hindsight.’

Scott was quiet a moment. ‘Yeah. Hindsight.’

They sat there for a moment, not talking, not looking at each other, just sitting. The TV screen paused on an empty stone hallway.

‘Why did you believe him?’

Scott sighed as he looked off the side, as if unable to face Stiles as they discussed this. ‘It made sense to me. If I could get away from it all, stop being a werewolf. I would have jumped at the chance. I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t.’

Stiles felt the tears building up behind his eyes. He’d honestly thought Scott had known this, that this was just common knowledge. ‘You want to know why I didn’t? Why I wouldn’t?’

Scott swallowed and nodded.

‘Because you were my family. You were my brother and I loved you.’ Stiles said gently and honestly.

Scott nodded jerkily, taking in a rasping breath. 

Stiles knew he had heard the past tense. Heard and understood it. 

‘You were always there for me.’ Scott’s voice was hoarse.

Stiles looked away, biting his lip to keep the tears from falling. ‘But you weren’t ever there for me. Not after the Nogitsune, Theo…’ He trailed off, unsure if he even needed to continue.

‘I was a dick.’ Scott finally said.

Stiles barked a laugh. He never thought he’d hear Scott admit it. He couldn’t believe how freeing hearing Scott say those words was. It felt like a massive weight being lifted from his shoulders. ‘Yeah, you were.’

‘I let the power of being a true alpha go to my head.’

‘Yeah you did.’ He agreed again. He didn’t bother pointing out that a true alpha was just a magic made alpha.

Scott took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry.’

Stiles looked at him sharply. ‘Are you?’

Scott nodded instantly. ‘I am. I don’t like who I have become. Who it has made me into.’ He sighed. ‘I’m ashamed of what I did, how I treated you, others.’ He swallowed loudly. ‘Derek.’

‘He’s forgiven you, you know?’ Stiles still wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he understood it. It was easier to forgive sins made to yourself, then made to those you cared about and loved. He could see himself forgiving Scott for what he did to him in time, but he didn’t think he could ever see himself forgiving Scott for what he had done to Derek.

‘He has?’ Scott asked unsurely.

Stiles sighed. ‘He never actually blamed you. Thought he deserved it.’

Scott winced as if Stiles had physically hit him. ‘Shit.’

‘Yeah, you still have a lot of work to do there. But Derek doesn’t hold it against you.’

‘He should.’ Scott said brokenly.

Stiles nodded in agreement. ‘Yeah, he should but he doesn’t. Plenty of others do.’

‘I know and they deserve to.’ Scott said quietly.

‘I don’t think Lydia will ever forgive you.’

‘What about you? Could you ever forgive me?’

Stiles thought about that. If Derek had forgiven him, would he be able to? Scott was a major part of most of his life, whether he had been present or not. ‘In time, I think I could. Maybe. But I can never forget and I don’t know if I can ever trust you again.’

‘I understand.’ Scott whispered.

‘But, if you mean it, and work for it. I think we could be friends again.’ Stiles said. ‘After all, we are brothers. Step brothers. Soon, anyway.’

Scott smiled at him. A small gentle smile that held the hope of a broken man.

  
  
  
  
  


‘Kira?’

Kira turned as she heard her name, only to see Isaac in a pickup idling at the side of the road. She grinned and waved at him. ‘Hey Isaac!’

‘Hey, you needing a ride anywhere?’

Kira shook her head. ‘Not really, I was just wondering around, doing a bit of window shopping.’

She’d actually been thinking and had been so lost in thought she hadn’t noticed him draw up.

Isaac nodded. ‘You wanna come over then? Danny’s been packing up the house, Jackson, Ethan and Cora have been helping him.’

‘Sure.’ Kira blinked. She hadn’t really known any of them all that well but it was about time that changed. She had seen how close the Hale pack was and she wanted part of it. She wouldn’t lose touch with them again and would do everything she could to keep in contact.

‘So Danny said you’re going to start up your own photography business?’ Kira asked, getting into the car. 

She kinda figured they were in the same boat, both moving to Colorado because the people they loved were moving there, not that she was moving there. Not permanently anyway. Although she wished it was.

She hadn’t hidden it from herself that she was in love with Ava, but she hadn’t told Ava yet. It was way too soon.

He glanced at her, blinking in surprise. ‘Erm. Yes. I am. Hopefully.’

‘You excited?’

Isaac grinned, his shoulders relaxing as he pulled back out into the traffic. ‘Yeah, I really am. I’ve done it part time for years and loved it.’

‘You must be good then.’

Isaac shrugged.

‘You want a hand setting things up?’ Kira asked. She always used to take photos of everything around her until she had taken one of herself and her fox had been surrounding her. It had freaked her out as she hadn't known about the supernatural back then. She hadn’t taken any pictures for years until the last couple when she’d been travelling and had only taken them to document her journey. She had found herself falling in love with it again. ‘I love photography and have worked in photo shops, gift shops and art gallery’s.’

Isaac blinked, keeping his eyes on the road. ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to afford to hire anyone for awhile.’

Kira laughed. ‘I’m not looking to be paid. Not just yet anyway. I can get another job for that. And anyway I don’t know how long I’ll be around for.’

‘Oh? I thought you were pretty serious with Ava?’

Kira smiled. ‘Yeah. She’s great and I really really want this to go somewhere.’

‘But?’

Kira looked out the car window, feeling helpless and lost. ‘But the skinwalkers told me I have a purpose, that I’m a protector.’

‘Who are you protecting?’

‘That’s just it! I have no idea! I have the ritual which sends me in the right direction but I did it a couple days ago and it didn’t direct me anywhere!’ It had freaked her out and worried her. She hadn’t mentioned it to Ava yet, something held her back, probably because she knew that Ava would ask her to stay with her and she would agree. She’d tried contacting a few of the tribes she’d stayed with and so far only one had given her an answer, if she could call it that. The elderly tribes woman had told her she saw exactly what she was meant to see. Which didn’t answer any of her questions. At all.

Isaac gave her a look. ‘Maybe because you’re where you’re meant to be.’

Kira glared at him. Was he taking lessons or something? She opened her mouth angrily and then closed it again. It suddenly hit her. She hadn’t been daydreaming. The ritual had told her who it was she was protecting. ‘Oh my God! Isaac you’re a genius! Can you drop me off at Stiles’? I need to speak to Ava.’

  
  
  
  
  


‘Peter.’ Stacey smiled as she opened the door before he had a chance to knock. It was nice as he didn’t seem surprised that she had known he was there. It was hard dating when you were a werewolf and your date was always surprised when she knew they had arrived without them ringing the doorbell. Or if a certain food was spoiled in the supermarket. Or how intimidated they got by her strength even when she was holding back. Or the fact that she disappeared every full moon.

So it was nice not just with Peter being in the know, but a werewolf too. She didn’t have to hold anything back and could ask everything that she had never gotten answers on. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to this date and had butterflies in her stomach. It helped that Peter was easy on the eyes and she felt a certain attraction for him.

‘Stacey, you look beautiful.’

She smiled, feeling a blush grace her cheeks. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had called her beautiful. ‘Thank you. Your looking good yourself.’

He grinned and there was no other word to describe it except wolfish, she laughed and instantly relaxed.

‘I hope you like Thai, I took the liberty to book us a table.’ Peter said as he held the car door open for her.

She grinned, he may not have come up to the door but he was still acting like a gentleman. ‘Your in luck, I love Thai.’

‘Well then my lady, your chariot awaits.’ Peter said with a small bow.

Stacey laughed again and kissed his cheek as she got into the car. He closed the door and quickly walked to the drivers side, elegantly sliding in. ‘Seeing how charming you are, it’s hard to believe the stories I’ve heard about you.’

She was surprised when his scent turned sour and regretful and his expression pained. She repeated her words in her head and instantly regretted them. 

‘I was in a very bad place and completely out of my mind. It’s amazing the wonders of having a pack that cares, accepts and supports you does.’ Peter said honestly, his heartbeat staying steady.

‘I imagine it does. And that I have not experienced that.’ Stacey said in an attempt to get back to where they had been. She hadn’t meant to bring the mood down, but every time she interacted with Peter, she couldn’t correlate him to the man who she’d been told horror stories about.

‘From my experience I would doubt that you had too.’ Peter said dryly, causing her to smile.

‘You’re a born wolf, aren’t you?’ Stacey checked.

Peter cocked an eyebrow at her. ‘McCall really doesn’t like me, does he?’

Stacey’s laugh was startled. ‘No, he very rarely talks about you, nothing good anyway. But when Derek came, Malia mentioned he was a born wolf so I’m assuming you are as well.’

Peter sighed, his scent full of pain. ‘Do you know much about the previous Hale pack?’

Stacey reached over and squeezed his hand. ‘Maybe we should save that story for the third date.’

He smiled wryly and squeezed her hand back. ‘I would like that.’

She nodded, pleased that his scent was almost back to how it was before she’d opened her mouth. ‘You do realise that as soon as we’re in the restaurant I’ll be quizzing you on how other packs run, everything you know about Stiles and Ava and other supernatural creatures?’

Peter chuckled. ‘Who says you have to wait til the restaurant. Some people I’m happy to share my knowledge with. And while I don’t know much about Ava, having only just met her, Stiles was the only one I could tolerate.’

‘Did you share your knowledge with him as well then?‘ Stacey teased.

He grinned back. ‘Only if he worked for it. Lydia was intelligent as well, but we’ve never seen eye to eye, not after I used her to resurrect me.’

Stacey winced. ‘Ouch.’

‘Yes, I was not the most pleasant back then, even I can admit that.’ Peter told her. ‘But my niece is a much better alpha than I could ever have hoped for and while I wish that part of my life had never happened, I am the most content I have been or could wish to be since then.’

‘Really?’ Stacey asked, surprised. She hadn’t intended the night to start off this deep, but she would be an idiot if she didn’t push this. She was looking for something meaningful, not just a one off.

‘Well, I could wish for someone to spend the rest of my life with, but if it doesn’t happen, I will not be discontent over it. Of course that’s not to say I have completely reformed.’ He winked at her.

Stacey smiled. She hadn’t realised she hadn’t taken her hand back after trying to offer him reassurance at the start of the drive. It was a nice and pleasant feeling. She slotted her fingers through his as he drove into the restaurant's carpark. If she was working with Stiles and Stiles was in a relationship with Derek, then it stood to reason that she would probably see a lot of Peter. And it seemed they were both looking for the same thing out of life.

  
  
  
  
  


Ava sighed as she stared at the book. It was old, and dust was now flying in the air around her from the many books she had brought back from her library to find this one. She’d sent the others back the second she found it, but unfortunately the dust had remained. Now she was just wondering how petty to be.

She knew she should go find Scott and clear the air with him. If only for Stiles sake, but she really didn’t like him.

If Stiles was willing to forgive him, then why wasn’t she? Probably because she didn’t have their history and Stiles’ need to believe that his childhood best friend was still a good person. Which was unfair of her, he wasn’t a bad or evil person, just completely oblivious to those around him and utterly stupid in his instincts. 

Giving the spell to Melissa like she had suggested was a cop out and she knew it. That was what was eating at her.

She sighed again and pulled a face even though there was no one around to see it. Her mind made up, she pulled out her phone, if she was going to have to put up with Scott, she didn’t see why she had to do it alone.

‘Hey Kira, you busy?’ Ava grinned. ‘Sure, come on over. Oh okay.’

She grabbed the book and some paper and wrote the spell out before she made her way to the front door where Kira was getting out of Isaac’s pickup.

Isaac grinned and waved before pulling away.

Ava waved back before turning her attention to Kira, holding her hand out and pulling her in. ‘Hi.’

‘Hi.’ Kira beamed at her as she leant forward for a kiss.

‘So, fancy coming with me to give Scott the spell so he can feel the pack bonds?’ Ava asked pulling a face, so Kira knew exactly how much she was looking forward to this and what she was getting into.

‘Sure, can we talk first though?’ Kira asked hesitantly, looking shy. ‘I really need to tell you something.’

‘Oh.’ Ava’s heart sank. This did not sound good. No good had ever come of those words. ‘Yeah, s-sure. You want to come in?’

Kira ducked her head and nodded.

Ava led the way back in and sat down on the sofa in a daze. Was this it? Was this the end of them? Was Kira ending it? They’d barely even started. Was Kira going to be the one that got away? She’d lived with heartbreak before and she wasn’t so keen to repeat the experience. She’d never fallen for someone as quickly as she had for Kira. This wasn’t fair.

‘IfoundoutwhoI’mmeanttoprotectandit’syou.’ Kira rushed in one breath.

Ava blinked, trying to process the words and failing. ‘Sorry what?’

Kira took a deep breath. ‘You’re the one I’ve been searching for. I’m your protector.’

Ava stared at her as her words sunk in. Kira knew. She’d found out who the skinwalkers had been talking about. She wasn’t breaking up with her. She was telling her she was staying. Ava grinned. ‘Yeah I am.’

‘You-you knew?’

Ava scrunched her nose up. ‘I’ve only just found out. Bart re-ascended and sent me a message. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you.’

Kira raised an eyebrow.

Ava winced. ‘Okay, I was procrastinating on trying to figure out how to tell you.’

Kira laughed, a proper throw your head back and laugh type of laugh. ‘I love you so much.’

Ava stared at her. ‘Really? Because I love you too and if you don’t want to move to Colorado, just tell me where.’

Kira shook her head, a smile on her face as she pulled her close, her hands on Ava’s face and her mouth only centimetres away as she looked into her eyes. ‘Colorado sounds perfect.’

Ava swallowed, trying to hold back tears as Kira kissed her. She wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly. She didn’t ever want to let go.

  
  
  
  
  


‘But where are we going?’ Stiles whined.

They were walking down the street and Stiles was being a little shit about it for some reason. Derek didn’t understand what the hell had happened but Stiles seemed to want to pick issue with everything he said or did.

‘What part of surprise do you not understand?’ Derek snarled. He couldn’t understand why Stiles was making such a big deal out of this. What was so wrong with Derek planning a nice surprise for him?

Stiles rolled his eyes, his scent sullen. ‘I understand surprise perfectly well thank you very much. I just don’t want a surprise. I want to know where we’re going.’

‘Well, I want it to be a surprise.’ Derek glared back at him. He was not going to give in on this, this was not a life or death circumstance, this was Derek trying to surprise his boyfriend, was he allowed to call him his boyfriend? Were they boyfriends? Mates meant so much more to a werewolf but there wasn’t an alternative that he could think of. He supposed fiancé was similar as they hadn’t had the official ceremony and like marriage, a mating could dissolve.

‘But why are you the one who gets his own way?’

‘Because I’m the one who planned this.’ Derek snapped, his patience stretched taut. ‘Now are you going to shut up and let me surprise you?’

‘Fine, but I want my protests logged for future.’ Stiles glared back at him.

‘Fine. I’ve logged it.’ Derek scowled but squeezed Stiles’ hand that was still in his and has been for the entire length of their squabble.

‘Good.’ Stiles squeezed his hand back.

‘God, you’re annoying it.’ Derek was smiling as he said it.

‘You love it.’ Stiles retorted, nudging his shoulder, his scent mellowing.

Derek snorted. ‘No, I love you. Despite it. Big difference there.’

‘Whatever.’ Stiles grinned, slipping his hand out of Dereks and his arm around his waist instead. ‘You still love me.’

Derek smiled, glancing at him. ‘Yeah I do.’

‘And I love you.’ Stiles smiled, his scent no longer sharp or sullen but pleased.

Derek grinned. He didn’t think he would ever get over hearing that. Nor did he know what had changed in the last five seconds but he wasn’t going to question it.

‘Hey, is that Peter and Stacey?’ Stiles asked, walking into Derek as he tried to get a better look. ‘Holy shit are they holding hands?!’

  
  
  



End file.
